


The pieces of me

by UnderZeWeather



Series: Warlocks, Demons, and Angels [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angels, Angels and demons don't get along very well, Angst, Back At It Again With My Bullshit, Demon AU, Established Relationship, Gore, M/M, Magic AU, Mild torture, PTSD, You guys wanted more you got more, mild body horror, side Adam/Shiro - Freeform, with a guest appearance from the sleep paralysis demon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-02-22 13:29:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 132,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22050070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather
Summary: Three months after the events at the Diabazaal coven things seem to be going alright for the most part. Everyone is just moving along with their lives as best as they can, but not all is as it seems. Lance is quietly suffering with PTSD, Keith is having an identity crisis, and Shiro still doesn't know if he can tell Adam the truth about himself and their shared past.However life and magic keeps getting in the way and forcing them all in different and dangerous situations. Is it even possible to live long enough to sort their own lives out with the forces of heaven and hell breathing down their necks?Sequel to Take a sip
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Warlocks, Demons, and Angels [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578535
Comments: 914
Kudos: 294





	1. Fire chicken

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year from Australia!
> 
> So here is the sequel. Hope you guys all enjoy this! I've been brain storming ideas for a while and thought that this idea of mine in my noodle was the best I could come up with. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“Breathe in.” 

One, two, three. 

“Breathe out.” 

Four, five, six.

“Fall forwards.”

With a sigh he fell forwards as instructed. Wind rushed past his body as he fell and kept falling. Faster and faster. Things were speeding up at an incredible pace. As he fell he felt a strong pull to a small pinpoint in the distance that was rapidly getting closer. Closer and closer until he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him, and the slight bump of a soft stop.

When he had stopped falling he took off his blindfold and grinned up at his boyfriend. His boyfriend, Keith, was also blindfolded but was smiling down at him. Lance reached up and took off his blindfold.

“Hey you didn’t drop me this time.” Said Lance.

Keith shrugged and put his down. “What can I say? I’m just that good.” 

The two of them had gone to the Marmora coven to get some proper training for Summoners and their Summoned demons. Krolia was making them do trust falls. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, but Krolia was making them do it blindfolded, with Lance falling from the height of a five story building. She said that if they were in tune with each other they would be able to find each other no matter if they could see or not.

Krolia clapped her hands and gracefully floated down from her position and smiled at them. “You two are doing really well. Seriously at this rate you could consider becoming Lance’s familiar there Keith.”

Keith shrugged. “I’m not sure… I mean like, it’s only been three months since everything that happened with the Diabazaal coven and the whole thing with Marcello… It just seems a little rushed.”

Lance nodded in agreement. “Yeah… I mean, we’re coming along really well now, but I’m still not that good… Oh! I can do this now!” He pointed at Keith and moved his hand in an upward motion. Instantly Keith was lifted off the ground and steadily going higher.

“Hey!” Snapped Keith. “You said you wouldn’t do that anymore! Put me down!”

Lance chuckled and quickly lowered Keith. “Sorry babe. Couldn’t help it. I had to impress the teacher you know?”

Krolia smiled and shook her head. “Boys, I think you’ve had enough training for today. Head on home.”

“Okay.” Said Keith as he shot Lance a dirty look. “Same time Saturday?”

“Same time Saturday.” She confirmed.

The duo quickly left via the magic elevator back into normal reality in the Marmora law firm office. Since they frequented the building so much many of the non magical humans that worked there assumed that Lance was either some young investor or had ties to the CEO somehow since he almost always came by saying he was there to see Kolivan. Everyone knew Keith was Krolia’s son and no one dared to piss off the son of the head of HR.

As they left the building Lance smiled and waved at the woman at the front desk. She looked at him like she had just sucked a lemon and quickly looked away. After their first meeting where she completely disrespected him she seemed to want to avoid interacting with him at all costs. Which was fine by him. She was a bitch, but as long as she was nice to him he would be nice to her. Keith said he wasn’t above hitting her and blamed society when Lance told him he can’t punch a woman.

“Lance, I ate a female child predator last week!” He complained. “How is punching a bitch worse than eating one?”

“The duration of their suffering?”

“I’m still going to eat a bitch!”

Keith’s demonic appetite for human flesh was still there and as present as ever. He still craved eating the depraved and filthy dregs of society and had admitted to Lance as much. It was one of their big discussions when they finally decided that wanted to be together. Lance agreed that Keith could hunt up to three times a month, but no more and he couldn’t go into detail about his kills to him, or bring home leftovers. In return, Keith had to dust the high parts in the mansion once a month since the mansion was so damn big and no one but Keith could climb up that high.

When they got outside the sun had started to dip in the sky. Lance yawned and stretched. “Okay. Want to head home or head out to eat something? Like a normal dinner. No humans.”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. We can just go out and eat whatever you like. As long as I can eat meat I don’t care.”

Lance sighed. “Keith…”

“... Beef. I want beef.”

“Cooked or raw?”

“... Raw.”

Lance nodded and walked to his car. Another thing he updated recently. He actually bought his own car. It was mainly out of necessity and he didn’t really think much about what it was when he was mainly concerned with getting from point A to point B without crashing through walls C, D, E and pedestrian F.

He drove to a grocery store and quickly ducked in to grab Keith some meat and a few sandwiches and bottles of water. After that Lance drove them back home. When they got back to the mansion Lance sighed as he looked up at it. It was a nice evening.

“So, do you want to eat outside or like by the pond?” Keith thought for a moment before he grabbed the shopping bag from Lance and started to climb up the side of the house. “... Roof it is.”

While Keith was climbing Lance just walked to the front door, unlocked it, and quietly hoped that his house would be nice to him today and just let him go right to the roof. He opened the door and was thankfully on the roof, and before Keith too.

He sat down and made himself comfortable just as he saw Keith climb onto the roof. “... I hate how you can get up here so quickly.”

Lance poked his tongue out. “I can’t help it that the house likes me more than you.” He patted the spot next to him and Keith sat by him. They quickly grabbed their food and drinks and started to eat.

Lance would never admit it, but he felt an odd fascination watching his demon boyfriend eat. Every time he ate no matter what it was, his fangs elongated slightly and sharpened. Like a real carnivore. When he got to a particularly large bit of meat the skin would split at the corner of his mouth so he could swallow larger bits without chewing. When he did that Lance could see some of his sharper and more gnarled teeth. 

He used to be a little creeped out by that, but now it was kind of mesmerizing. Keith didn’t often eat in front of him and when he did he did his best not to let his demonic eating habits show. Apart from eating raw meat of course. Eating raw meat was better for Keith than eating cooked food. He would still eat it, but Keith did prefer his food raw and still alive.

“... What?” Asked Keith.

“Hmm?”

“You’re staring at me. Do I have something on my face?”

Lance smiled at him and shook his head. “Nothing. I just like watching you eat. I never see your other teeth.”

“Oh…” Keith shrugged and kept eating. “I never really have any need to open my mouth that wide… Only when I’m eating people. Which reminds me I’m going to go hunting with Shiro tomorrow.”

“Ah, okay… Isn’t Shiro meant to be going on a date with Adam?”

Keith shrugged. “Even if he is I’m still going hunting.”

“Fair enough.” Lance ate his sandwich and watched the city scape. 

It would be dusk soon and he felt… Apathetic. Which was weird. He should be happy right now, but he wasn’t. He was still alive and things were going really well for him. At the same time he just… Everything just kind of felt numb. Sure he did feel happy and sad every now and then but it wasn’t as much as it used to be. He didn’t know if this was depression or not. He didn’t want to bring it up in case he was wrong and worried everyone over nothing. 

Keith lighting nudged his arm. “Lance? Are you okay?”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to be in deep thought about something. Want to talk?” Over the past few months Keith had become a little more open and asked Lance more about how he felt, what was going on with him, and just what he was thinking about in general. Lance had a sneaking suspicion that Shiro had some influence on Keith’s questioning behaviour.

Lance just smiled at him and shrugged. “Not really thinking about much. Just wondering if I would have died if you dropped me during that trust exercise.”

“I wouldn’t have dropped you. You know that, right?”

“I know. I just like to think about what if questions and stuff.” Said Lance. He sighed a little and pulled his knee up to his chest and rested his chin. “Like, what if I did end up dying. What if that was the end? What would happen now? What would happen with you?”

Keith frowned and wiped the blood off his hands before reached over to hold Lance’s hand. “It doesn’t matter. It didn’t happen. You’re still alive and we’re still here together… In a twisted way Marcello kind of did save you. You did die… and I did technically eat you… So…”

Lance shrugged. “I guess…”

“Well, Marcello was a freak... He seemed way too excited about being able to have some weird angel, demon hybrid thing.” Muttered Keith.

Things were quiet between them for a moment before Lance leaned over and quickly kissed his cheek. He didn’t mean to bring down the mood. “Sorry. Let’s go back inside now. It’s gonna get cold soon…”

Keith nodded and helped Lance pack things up before going inside. Once they were inside They were back on the third floor. He lead Lance back to their bedroom and told him to get changed into his pyjamas while he went and threw the garbage out.

Lance’s room had changed a little since he and Keith had become boyfriends. Keith had moved from the nest he shared with Shiro to Lance’s bed. Keith immediately made changes. He had to. He just couldn’t sleep on a mattress the same way Lance could. Lance had watched in amusement as Keith pulled apart the bedframe and tossed it into a different room. He had found bamboo sticks which he used to stab into the sides of the mattress. He’d then used a soft rope to weave between the sticks to create a nest shape. He filled it with soft blankets and pillows too.

Pidge had made several jokes about Lance and Keith’s quote unquote “Love nest”. Lance had gotten flustered, but Keith just ended up looking confused. He still wasn’t very good with picking up on the way humans talked. Still, it was better then Shiro. Him learning about memes and then him attempting to use it was both endearing and majorly cringy.

Lance changed into his pyjamas and decided to just wander out to see if Hunk or Pidge were back yet. Pidge was in her room drinking her third redbull while coding. He waved at her and she stared at him with dead eyes, giving him a nod of acknowledgement before she quickly hid her can. She knew she shouldn’t be drinking so many energy drinks this late at night, but she kept saying she had code she needed to fix. She had graduated from coffee fetcher to code checker at her internship.

He walked down to the kitchen and momentarily wondered if Hunk was there. He could be coming home late if he was going on an impromptu date with Shay. She was such a nice troll. She often came over to the house and actually helped out a little with some landscaping stuff and helped Shiro pick out the best rocks for his greenhouse.

Speaking of Shiro, the Manticore was probably still on his date with Adam. It had been months already. Months. Shiro still had yet to tell Adam that he was the reincarnation of Shiro’s past lover, that got burned at the stake as a witch. Obviously that was a lot to dump on someone, but still. It needed to be done. Adam didn’t even know that Shiro was a Manticore.

When he got to the kitchen he was happy to see Hunk was actually there. However he was holding a cow bone above his head and away from Keith that was trying to grab it.

“Give it!” Snapped Keith. “Humans don’t eat bones! You can’t eat that! Give it!”

“I’m going to make a broth with it!” Said Hunk. “I bought this specifically for broth!”

“But it has so much bone marrow in it!” Whined Keith. “Hand it over and I’ll get you a new bone later!”

Hunk suddenly looked horrified. “You and I both know the only bones you frequently get are human bones! We do not do cannibalism in this house!” Hunk spotted Lance. “Lance! Stop your boyfriend!”

Lance chuckled a little. “What? You want me to call him over? Sorry Hunk. Only time I tell Keith what to do is when we’re in a life or death situation. You’re on your own. Keith’s his own weird demon thing.”

Keith grinned at Hunk and continued to try and grab the cow bone from his hands. If he really wanted to, Keith could snatch it out it from his hands if he really wanted it, but he did. He was pretty much playing with Hunk. Which made Lance smile a little. Keith had slowly started to expand his small family, even if he didn’t realise it yet. Hopefully he would soon realise he saw Pidge and Hunk as part of his pack too.

Pidge walked into the kitchen, grabbed a mug, ignored what Hunk and Keith were doing, and started to look through their teas. “... Hunk, what are the teas to help you sleep?”

“Um… Chamomile, valerian root, lavender, lemon balm, passionflower, and magnolia bark.” Said Hunk as he kept Keith away at arms length. 

“No, no, no, the magic tea shit.” Said Pidge. “The good shit that Allura and Coran sell. The actual sleep tea.”

“You really shouldn’t rely on magic to help you sleep…” Muttered Hunk.

Pidge huffed and crossed her arms. “Fuck it. I’m going to soak a rag in chloroform and pass the fuck out. Keith, want to learn about the wonders of human chemistry?”

“Sure.”

“We need an adult.” Whined Hunk. “Where is Shiro? Why isn’t he here?”

“Date with Adam.” Said Lance. “But do you think he would really stop this? I think he would participate in this and accidentally chloroform himself.”

“Yeah that sounds like Shiro.” Said Keith. “... What does chloroform do?”

Pidge shrugged. “You’re going to find out.”

Suddenly the front door opened up and Shiro walked in. He was in his human form and wore a very nice pair of dark jeans and a blue button up shirt that Lance had picked out for him. He looked a bit flustered as he was holding some screeching red, and yellow chicken.

Everyone paused and stared at him. “Um Shiro? Why do you have a chicken?” Asked Pidge.

Shiro flinched as the bird screeched some more and tried to get out of his hands. “It swooped me when I got to the front door. I think it’s another messenger bird?” The last time a messenger bird graced them with its presence it was to deliver the kidnapping note from the Daibazzal coven.

“Why?” Asked Hunk. The chicken let out a particularly loud screech and a burst of fire shoot out of its mouth and burnt a black scorch mark on the ceiling. “Okay! Not a normal chicken! Magic chicken!” Hunk ducked behind down and pulled out a small fire extinguisher, pointing it at the fire chicken.

Everyone else jumped back in shock. Pidge opened the window and Lance armed himself with a wooden spoon. Keith just seemed amused and he actually walked over to the bird and poked it. “Cool.” The chicken then attempted to rip off Keith’s fingers. Keith, being Keith, obviously didn’t like this and slapped the chicken out of Shiro’s hands. 

The bird bounced like a basketball three times, all the while screeching and puffing out flames every few seconds. Hunk, Pidge, and Lance jumped up onto the countertop to avoid getting burnt. Keith was shocked that the bird was bouncing and quickly tried to grab it. The fire chicken was having none of this and ran around screeching its head off. Shiro quickly morphed back into his manticor form, completely destroying his clothes, but the change was so sudden and unexpected that the chicken froze in shock.

Keith took his chance and grabbed it. “HA!” The chicken suddenly burst into flames. “AH?!”

Hunk panicked and blasted both Keith and the chicken with the extinguisher. When the cold blast settled Keith looked completely shocked, but in his hands was a wax sealed scroll. Turns out the flame chicken was indeed a messenger bird. 

He shook some of the gunk off of it and handed it to Lance. “I think it’s safe to say this is for you…”

Lance nodded and took the scroll from him. He smashed it against the counter to crack the wax container and tipped the letter out. It was a scroll that looked like it was made from ancient parchment or something to that effect. The lettering was in gold with some fancy coat of arms with the letters F.D.A.W.W.C.A written as the header. However Lance couldn’t read the incredibly complex and loopy looking language on the paper. This was of immediate concern to Lance.

Pidge moved a little closer to him and looked over his shoulder. “So, who hates you enough to send you a fire chicken?”

“I… I don’t know…” Admitted Lance. “I can’t read this.” In all honesty this should not have been possible. Attached to Lance’s hand was a magical ring that he couldn’t remove. It always translated everything he read. Even the demon languages of Infernal and High Infernal. He should have been able to read this. Why couldn’t he do it?

“Let me see that.” Said Shiro. Lance held the letter up for him to read. The Manticore hummed a little as he looked over the letter and frowned. “Ah yes. Okay. That makes sense.”

“You can read it?” Asked Lance.

“Oh hell no. That’s Ethereal. The language of the divine beings in the heavenly realm.” Said Shiro. “I know what it looks like, but I can’t read it to save my life.”

At the revelation this came from that place everyone went quiet. They didn’t really know what to say. This might have had to do with Keith technically being part angel, which they still needed to figure out since they never really got to the bottom of that. Then again that was months ago. One would think that they would have been on that immediately.

“... Maybe call Kolivan?” Suggested Hunk. “Him or Krolia?”

Keith sighed a little and got his phone out and quickly called her. “Hey sar? Can you come over? … Yeah, I’m at Lance’s place, but I think we just got a death threat from someone from the heavenly realm? … They sent a fire chicken. Yep... Yes... No… It caught fire… Okay. We’ll make you some tea.” He hung up and sighed. “Krolia will be here in twenty. We have any tea to help with headaches?”

“I’m on it.” Hunk started looking through the teas while Pidge went to find a mop to clean up the kitchen.

Lance just sighed as he got off the countertop. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the scorch mark that the house was already starting to erase from its surface. “Right… Here we go again…”


	2. F.D.A.W.W.C.A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Krolia to the rescue! If anyone can help them it's her. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Krolia got to the house and happily hugged Keith before quickly downing her lukewarm tea and sighed happily. She looked surprisingly relaxed wearing sweatpants and a stretched out shirt with cheesepuff stains on it. They gave her a questioning look she just shrugged and slumped into the couch.

“It was my day off.” Was her only explanation, despite the fact she had clearly been working earlier that day. She sighed a little and made herself comfortable. “Okay, so what am I looking at?” Lance handed the letter over to her and she looked through it. She looked surprised before she chuckled. “I see you got one of these letters too.”

“What does it say?” Asked Lance. “And why can’t my ring read this ethereal stuff?”

She shrugged. “Ethereal isn’t common. It might take a while for it to process properly. Do any of you know what the F.D.A.W.W.C.A is right?”

“Not a clue.” 

Krolia chuckled. “It stands for; Fae, Demon, Angel, Witch, Warlock, and Coven Alliance. It’s a letter asking that you, Lance McClain go to the Radiant mountains for the annual meeting.” She grinned and happily handed it back to Lance. “This is very prestigious. Only those that have the power to influence the realms are invited to this. Kolivan got his letter earlier today. He’s still deciding if he will go by himself or bring one of us with him.”

Lance nodded a little and looked down at the letter. The letters were slowly becoming more smudged and blurry. It seemed like she was right. His ring just needed a moment to read it just like she said. “Oh… So why do I have this?”

Pidge punched his arm. “Lance, you do remember this fucking house is built on the gates of hell. You literally kind of absorbed the body of the only creature that could open the gate of hell, making you the one that can start the end of the world. Why the absolute fuck wouldn’t they ask the fucking key to opening hell to this thing?!”

“... Right. I keep forgetting that happened.” Muttered Lance.

Krolia smiled at him. “It’s okay. Anyway, the Radiant mountains are lovely this time of year. They are pretty much the magic equivalent of a spa.”

Lance immediately perked up. “A spa?” He had always wanted to go to one. Closest he had been was his sister giving him her gift card to go to some massage place in some strip mall. It was nice, but Lance always wondered what it would be like to have a mud bath or have a fancy face mask while someone give him a manicure and a pedicure.

“Yes. A spa.” Said Krolia. “The F.D.A.W.W.C.A only meets once every hundred and seventy five years. Lots of people will be there. There will be all kinds of people from all over the three realms.” She sighed. “I wonder if I should try and twist Kolivan’s arm into letting me go with him?”

“So we’re going to a spa?” Asked Pidge.

Krolia shook her head. “No. Lance only has a plus one on his invitation. It’s usually reserved for those who wish to bring their familiars or partners with them. Plus I don’t think it would be very wise to leave this place completely unprotected.”

Lance nodded a little. “I guess… Everyone is okay with me taking Keith, right?”

Pidge rolled her eyes and punched his arm. “Dude, I’d be offended if you didn’t take your boyfriend.”

Hunk shook his head and smiled. “Just don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Please don’t eat anyone.” Muttered Shiro. Though his comment was more directed at Keith than Lance. Keith just hissed at Shiro. 

Lance smiled a little and looked back down at the letter. He was relieved he wasn’t going to get killed by some crazy angels and he did feel a little better about going somewhere with Keith. Kolivan was also going there which was a huge bonus. He did feel a little safer about going there. Hopefully he wouldn’t get sent any more flaming death chickens.

“So how do we get there?”

“You can check in with Kolivan when he goes.” Said Krolia. “You probably don’t know the spell and it wouldn’t be good if you messed it up.”

“Fair enough.” Lance folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. “Um, since it’s late you can stay here if you like. I’m sure Keith would appreciate spending some time with his sar.” Keith gave Lance a slightly grateful look. Him and Krolia were still trying to rebuild their relationship. It was happening, but very slowly. 

Krolia smiled softly at Keith. “If Keith is happy to let me stay I’m more than happy to spend the night here. It will be good to catch up.”

Keith smiled and happily sat next to her. After that, the rest of them headed off in their own direction. Hunk went back to make sure the kitchen was fine. Pidge went back to her room, and Shiro ended up walking back to his room with Lance following him. Lance still wanted to know how his date with Adam went and if he was any closer in telling him the truth.

“So where did you two go?” Asked Lance.

Shiro shrugged. “We just went to a bar and had dinner and a few drinks. Nothing super crazy…. I think next week we’re going to go over to his place to watch a movie.”

“This is like your fifth date or something with him, right?” Asked Lance. “Are you thinking of maybe… You know?”

Shiro blushed and suddenly found the carpet extremely interesting. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure his roommate will be there. It’ll be the first time meeting Curtis. I hope I can make a good impression…”

Lance smiled and put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro, buddy, you’re the nicest guy I know. I’m sure this Curtis guy will like you no matter what.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You can do anything man.”

Shiro smiled a little. “Thanks. I appreciate it… So you’re going to the Radiant mountains? That sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, you heard of it?”

“Yeah. It’s technically more like a mountain range created by the gods to communicate with angels, demons, fea, and humans on neutral ground. So demonic gods can talk to angels, demons can talk to angels, all that stuff. You can only get there if invited by the gods. I’m not sure how that alliance thing works though. Didn’t know that was a thing.”

“Ah, okay… Well I’m going to go and chill in my room for a bit. Have a good night Shiro.”

“Night Lance.”

Lance smiled and walked into his room. He closed the door and sighed as he leaned against it. He was… Lance was tired. He was really tired. Sure he was happy that he got invited to something as prestigious as this thing and he was going to go to a spa resort with Keith, but like it was just a thing he had to deal with.

He put the letter on the bedside table and climbed into the nest. He stared at the ceiling and sighed loudly. Just another thing that was getting thrown at him. This was just something that he was going to have to deal with. He closed his eyes and quietly wished the sinking feeling inside him would go away soon.

***

“So you still want to talk to me?” Asked Krolia. “We talked many times when you were over earlier practicing.”

“Well yeah, but that was us just talking about training.” Said Keith. “... We don’t really talk much about us…”

Krolia smiled a little. “Oh? Since when did you become all touchy feely?”

“... I think I still have some of Lance’s body still in my guts or something.” Muttered Keith. Eating Lance had made him a little more emotional than usual. He wasn’t really sure if it was because Lance was magic or the fact that it was because just being with Lance made him more emotional.

She shrugged and lightly nudged his arm. “Maybe. But it’s fine. Really. So what do you need to talk to your sar about?”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know… I just missed you. We only really see each other when Lance and I come to you guys for help… And I’ve said some shitty things to you…”

“Like I’m not part of your pack?”

“Yeah…”

Krolia smiled a little and opened her arms. “Come here kit.” With a little sigh, Keith shuffled closer to her and let her hug him. Hugs still felt a little awkward with him when they came from her. They were still nice, but there was still a slight disconnect. He awkwardly moved his arms around so he could hug her back. “I love you kit.”

“I love you too sar… Man, it feels so weird to say.”

She chuckled and squeezed him a little tighter. “Yeah. It does. Still nice though.”

He smiled and squeezed her back. “Yeah. It is kind of nice.”

“Yep… So how are you liking the human world?”

“It is confusing and I hate it.” Grumbled Keith. “If it wasn’t for the fact I like Lance I’d probably demand he send me back to hell… Hey sar? Why didn’t you make my dar your familiar?”

“Familiar’s are complicated when it comes to witches.” Said Krolia. “I would have loved to have made Akira my familiar, but no… Only Marmora can give us a familiar or give us permission to have a familiar. For centuries Marmora has been quiet and hasn’t regularly spoken to us.” She frowned and started to run her fingers through his hair. “It was okay. We made it work. We managed to have you and raise you as best we could, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you have your own mate now too.” Said Krolia. She looked so proud of him. “Are you going to ask to be his familiar?”

“We’ve only been officially together for a few months…” Muttered Keith. “It would be way too fast.”

She shrugged. “Well you two go at your own pace. Okay? You two are good for each other.”

“Glad you think so. Want me to show you to your room for the night?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.” Keith showed Krolia to an unused bedroom and said goodnight to her before he headed back to his own nest.

No, not just his nest. The nest he shared with Lance. Their nest. It made him feel good to say he had a nest with Lance. Sure he felt a little bad about not having a nest with Shiro anymore, but the manticore happily shooed him away. Telling him he needed to have his own nest with his boyfriend. Keith was also happy when Lance let him make changes to his mattress to make it more suitable for him. He liked it and he hoped Lance did too.

He went into the bedroom and changed into a light pair of shorts before slipping into the nest next to Lance. He was still awake, but he looked like he was close to falling asleep. Lance made a few sounds of acknowledgement and snuggled into his chest.

Keith smiled softly and held him loosely in his arms. Lance had been progressing really quickly in magic now that Marcello was gone. It was almost scary how quickly he was doing it. He was really proud of him. Lance was amazing, but he was pushing himself a little too hard. He saw how much Lance would space out when no one was looking.

“Hey Lance?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired… It be like that sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Keith rested his chin on the top of Lance’s head. “You’ve been tired for a long time… This spa thing is probably a really good thing for you huh? You can do all the spa things like… Um… spa stuff.”

Lance chuckled a little. “You got no idea what happens at a spa?”

“Not a clue.”

“Well there are pools, mud baths, face masks, massages, and all that nice stuff.”

“... Okay?” Keith wasn’t impressed but if Lance seemed to like it then that was good enough for him. He hummed a little and ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. His hair was really soft. Maybe Keith should actually start using shampoo or conditioner? Nah, too much effort. He’d do it if Lance made him, but nah.

“Yeah.” Mumbled Lance. “It’ll be nice… Hope we can get a massage or something together.”

“Together?”

“Yeah. Couples massage.”

“... Alright?” Keith didn’t get it, but if Lance wanted to do that it was fine. “What’s the point of all that?”

Lance shrugged. “Makes you feel good. Makes your skin better. Softer.”

Keith frowned and gently rubbed his thumb over Lance’s arm. His skin was always soft. Pretty. Yes, Lance had pretty skin. He always had pretty skin. He loved touching it, running his claws over it, gently biting it, licking it, sucking on it and bruising it. He liked how Lance’s skin contrasted against his own. It was so pretty. Perfect. 

“You don’t need that stuff. Your skin is fine.”

“Aw, thanks Keith.” Said Lance. “But I still like it… It’s nice to feel pampered once in a while. You know?”

“Not really… I don’t really like mud baths. They are awful.”

Lance looked up at him with a slightly confused look on his face. “Okay, you have to explain.”

Keith groaned a little. This was going to be annoying. “Okay, so when I was a young kit, Shiro and I were these large pig things… Um… Fera sexdecim.”

“Excuse me?”

“It means wild hog, dumbass.” Grumbled Keith. “Anyway, these things were huge. Size of an ice cream truck. Shiro threw me at it and I went for the neck. My job was to rip out the spine and kill it while Shiro distracted it. I didn’t get a good grip and it threw me off into the mud. The fera sexdecim ran away and I had to wait for the mud to dry. It wasn’t fun.

Lance chuckled. “Babe, that isn’t a real mud bath. We’ll have a good one. It’ll feel good and you’ll love it. Promise.”

“If you say so.”

“I know so.” Lance looked up and kissed him. “I love you… You do want to come with me right? I kind of just assumed…”

“I want to go with you.” Said Keith quickly. “Of course I want to go with you. Why wouldn’t I? You’re going to be around so many demons, angel things and whatever else is out there… I’m going to keep you safe.” 

“Because I summoned you?” Asked Lance.

“Well kind of? Since you’re my Summoner I have to protect you.” Which was true. Keith, as a demon had to protect whoever summoned them with his life. He hoped that Lance remembered that, but didn’t think that was the only reason. He loved him. He wanted to keep Lance safe. He already failed it once. He wasn’t going to do it again. He would hold Lance close and protect him. He would never let anything bad happen to him again. “I love you Lance… And I’ll do anything to protect you. I will guard you with my life.”

“...” Lance hummed a little and wrapped his arms around Keith, pressing himself as much as he could up against him. “Fuck that. I died for you before. You do some dumb shit and get yourself killed again I will find a away to bring you back to life just to slap you.”

Keith smiled softly and hugged him back. “Okay. Let’s just sleep okay? You seem very tired. Using magic today must have really fucked you up.”

“It did…” Mumbled Lance as he closed his eyes. “No more talking… Sleep…”

Keith smiled and shut his mouth. He’d let Lance sleep for now. It was one of the only times he looked peaceful these days. Well, there were times he did have nightmares. Lance never told him what it was about, but he had a good idea what it was about. So he enjoyed seeing Lance so peaceful, even if it was only for a few hours. 

He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. So he was going with Lance to some spa thing? A spa thing with lots of demons, angels and who knows what else. It was all pretty messed up. He’d have to watch Lance like a hawk. The motives of some of the beings there probably weren’t as innocent as morally sound as Lance might be used to. He’d keep Lance safe.


	3. Sleep Paralysis Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because fuck it, if I have to deal with this shit so does Lance. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance’s body felt like it was in free fall. One moment he was laying in bed with Keith, but the next felt a weird jolt and he was awake, yet he couldn’t move. Yet he was there and he wasn’t? It seemed to be some form of sleep paralysis. Maybe. Lance didn’t know what else to call it. He’d been experiencing these kinds of dreams on and off for several weeks now.

It was pretty much the same as every other one he had; trapped under Keith’s arm or leg, staring off into the distance, and occasionally saw the thin tendrils of what he presumed was his sleep paralysis demon trying to creep into his vision. He never actually saw it, but he knew it was there. It was creepy. Sometimes he’d have a more out of body experience and seem to float above the two of them as they slept. Creepy, but he didn’t really know what to do. He didn’t like it.

Though tonight things were a little different. Once again he was experiencing some form of sleep paralysis. This night he had his back pressed against Keith’s chest with his arms wrapped around him.He looked over at the side of the nest. Waving just over the edge were those dark tendrils again. He didn’t know what they were exactly, but it seemed like hair to him. Long, thin, black hair. He didn’t know what to think about it.

He didn’t feel particularly scared. He’d seen scarier things before. Whatever weird thing his mind could come up with was nothing compared to the shit he had seen. That was until his sleep paralysis demon decided to try and pull itself over the edge of the nest.

Long, thin, pale limbs. Skin pulled so taught over bones they could easily be seen. He’d seen this thing before the last time he accidentally got thrown into the astral plane. The hoards of them that had him pinned down. The things that force fed him their blood until he managed to snap out of it. Vehementi impetu. The mindless hoard that was the fate of all living things one they died.

Lance swallowed as he saw it finally pull itself up. Covering its head was a tightly stretched patchwork bag. The bag was stretched so tightly that Lance could clearly see the hole where its mouth was, but the thing that absolutely terrified Lance was the fact there was a huge gash in the bag revealing the creature’s bloodshot, acid green eye. Its eyelids were pulled back and stapled in such a way that it looked like any slight movement would cause them to bleed and seep blood.

It slowly leaned in closer to Lance, staring at him with its one eye. Lance knew who his hallucination was meant to be. He recognised the eye too well. It was his uncle. Marcello. The necromancer that just refused to die no matter what.

So this was a big problem. Marcello was a necromancer. A very good one. Which begged the question; was he actually dead? Technically his spirit was still out there. Lance wouldn’t put it past him to use whatever magic he had left over to completely fuck with him and destroy his life. After all, this was the man that manipulated him into handing over his body for the necromancer to possess.

The manifestation was so close now Lance could see the fabric around its mouth move as it wheezed its breaths. _“Give it back.”_ It whispered. _“Did you really think I’d let you win? You stupid boy. I’ll never let you go. You willingly let me in once. I can come in again. Dirty pig. Filthy.”_

One of their twig-like fingers reached out and ghosted over Lance’s face, stopping just millimeters from his eye. It was so close that if he blinked he could swear he could feel it brushing against his eyelashes. He wanted to move, scream, do something, anything. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even nudge Keith and wake him up.

_“Pig. Disgusting. Give it back to me. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back to me. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it back. Give it to me. GIVE IT!”_

***

Lance was eventually freed from his sleep paralysis and was allowed to wake up in the morning. He felt like shit. He felt like he hadn’t slept at all last night. He moved Keith’s arm off his body and rubbed his eyes. Fuck that sleep paralysis demon. He’d ask Allura and Coran if they had anything for that when he next saw them.

Keith huffed and yawned, slowly waking up. “Morning…” He mumbled. “Sleep well?”

It took Lance a few moments to collect himself before he smiled at his boyfriend and kissed him. “Yeah. I’m good. How about you? How did you sleep?”

“Pretty good.” He lazily pulled Lance close and nuzzled him in an affectionate way. “You ready to go to this weird spa thing?”

“Yep. Got my suitcase and everything.” Said Lance. “Just gotta run some things by the guys before we go and meet up with everyone at the Marmora coven… But first I’m going to go and shower. You gonna go and jump in the pond?”

Keith shrugged. “Maybe. You go and do your thing.”

Lance smiled a little and made his way to the bathroom. He decided to run a bath for himself just because. After a visit from the sleep paralysis demon Lance wanted to just relax. The tub in the bathroom was large and shaped like a seashell. It was a little odd and reminded Lance a lot of really old bathrooms.

But it was nice. It was big enough for at least three people. It was more like a jacuzzi than a bath. When it was filled Lance quickly sank into the water and sighed. It felt nice. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He could still see that horrible bloodshot eye staring at him. It made him shudder and feel kind of sick.

He sighed loudly and sank down, resting his head on the side of the tub. Going to some magic spa thing is just what he needed. At least that’s what he thought. He had no idea what a magical spa was going to do for him but he needed it. He needed it bad.

He heard the bathroom door open and he looked over to see Keith walking in. He leaned over the side of the tub and started running his fingers over the water. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to Lance and just kept playing in the water.

Lance raised an eyebrow and watched him. “You need something?”

Keith shrugged. “Just waiting for you. Your human grooming is weird.”

“Your demon grooming is weird.”

“...” Keith splashed Lance.

“Oh, real mature there Keith.” He stuck his tongue out and splashed him again. Lance rolled his eyes and splashed him back. “Quit it or you’re getting a face full of bathwater.”

“I’d like to see you try.” 

Lance took this as a challenge, and with a flick of his wrist he pulled a small ball of bathwater into the air and threw it at Keith, hitting his square in the face. The demon jumped back and hissed, trying to wipe the water from his face.

“Dick!”

“You asked for it. Now get out of here so I can get out.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Nothing is stopping you from getting out right now you know.”

“Unlike demons humans prefer to be dressed most of the time. So move your demon butt out to the kitchen or something while I get out and get dressed. You can move our luggage to while you’re at it.”

“You mean my backpack and your suitcase?”

“I told you that you could pack more stuff if you wanted.”

Keith shook his head and left the bathroom. When he was gone, Lance got out and dried himself off before quickly getting dressed. Keith often came into the bathroom when Lance was using the bath. He didn’t seem to be doing it because he was perving on him or anything. He had genuinely seemed curious about baths. Then again he was still dead set on only bathing in the pond out the back of the house because plumbing was weird human magic. Yet he still used the toilet… At least as far as Lance knew.

He gave himself a quick once over in the mirror before he quickly headed down to the kitchen. Everyone else was already there. “Morning guys. How are things?”

“All good.” Said Hunk. “You ready to go to this thing?”

“Yep. Just a few house rules while I’m gone; no wild parties, no destroying the house, no touching random magic things, and don’t go into my room. All good?”

“Got it.” Said Pidge. “ Why would we even want to invade your love nest anyway?” 

“... Please stop calling it that Pidge.” Muttered Lance.

“Never.”

Lance shook his head. “Anyway, you guys all good? Keith and I have to get going.”

Hunk hugged Lance tightly. “You be good out there. Don’t do anything stupid. Okay?”

He grinned and hugged back. “I will big guy.” Lance looked over at Pidge. “But seriously, don’t touch my shit.”

Pidge shrugged. “I make no promises.”

“Whatever. You good Shiro?”

“I’m good.” He smiled at Keith. “Don’t do something dumb.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry about it.”

The group quickly said goodbye and headed out to the car and drove to the Mamora law firm. Kolivan had already informed them that they would be able to park their car in their parking lot and they headed into the building. The woman at the front desk didn’t even look at them twice as he saw them walk past.

***

Keith was kind of excited to technically go to another realm, He seemed to be doing a lot of realm hopping these days. Which he was fine with as long as it meant he was with Lance. Though if he was honest with himself he was also kind of anxious. He didn’t know what kind of creatures would also be out there. He’d have to get information on them too. Hopefully Kolivan would be useful in that regard.

When they got into the coven the witches there were actually wearing their robes. Something Keith hadn’t seen them wear since he was a small kit and still living in the coven. He thought they had modernized or something. Maybe they only wore their robes for certain ceremonies now? He wasn’t sure.

Antok spotted them first. “Ah, you two are here. Good. We were just thinking about calling you. Kolivan and Krolia are ready to go.”

“Oh, so Krolia got picked to go?” Asked Lance. ‘Is there some dress code I don’t know about?”

“There is no real dress code for Warlocks.” Said Antok. “Witches and those in groups usually tend to dress similarly.”

“Fair enough. Anything else we should know about?”

Antok glanced over at Keith. “... Your human disguise won’t work there. The only magic they will allow to change your appearance is reserved for guests of unusual proportions and those that require legs for mobility.”

Keith frowned. He didn’t like that. He hadn’t fully dropped his human disguise since his fight with Marcello. He wasn’t sure if he still looked like a demon or an angel anymore. He was actually kind of worried what he might look like. “I see…”

Antok gave him a sympathetic look and directed them to where Krolia and Kolivan were lighting candles with a few other people. They greeted them, but they both seemed to be all business. They were talking about being professional and keeping to themselves just so they don’t make enemies of anyone. Since everyone going there was technically powerful enough to change the realms.

Keith was glad that Lance seemed to be taking that part seriously. “Right. No talking.”

“Is there any group we should really avoid?” Asked Keith.

Kolivan thought for a moment. “... The Legion would be a group to avoid. They are a group of demons whose bodies are made entirely out of a rough metal-like material. They are all part of a hive mind and look, act and sound exactly the same… They like to… Experiment on things not like them.”

“... What does that mean?” Asked Lance.

Krolia frowned. “They like to make torture and make people suffer. They lack a lot of the things normal living creatures do so they learn through torture what makes other things tick. It is sick, but they do not have the same morality as humans and don’t see their torture as bad or immoral. It just is.”

“... Yep, staying the hell away from those guys.” Muttered Lance.

“Keith.” Said Kolivan. “If you want to avoid anyone, I suggest you avoid the Iscariots. They are a group of demon slayers throm Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths. They claim to have put aside what they consider minor ideological differences to slay demons. Though they have been known to be extremely zealous and will not hesitate to slay demons they consider might even be slightly evil in their eyes. Even at these meetings. Keep your wits about you.”

“... Okay?” Keith still had no clue about human religions. He really needed to look into them more. 

Lance seemed to understand more since he had a very confused look on his face. “Um, I call bullshit on that name. Jews don’t believe in the New Testament and totally wouldn’t have been part of a group called the Iscariots.”

“They lost the vote two to one.” Said Krolia. “Either way they are not to be messed with. Be polite to them if you cross paths but don’t do anything rash. It won’t be worth it.”

Keith nodded. He wasn’t going to do anything that would piss them off. Now he at least had an idea of who he had to protect Lance from. He would do that. He’d keep Lance away from the Legion and stay away from the Iscariots.

The Mamora coven started to gather in the room. They started chanting and a strange rift in the universe started to open up. When the rift was stable enough The group walked through it.

Keith was instantly blinded by an extremely bright, white light. It hurt his eyes. He growled slightly and rubbed his eyes. When things came back into focus Keith was shocked to see they were standing in a bright whie room bustling with people. No, not just people. There were demons and different looking angels.

“Whoa, Kolivan wasn’t kidding.” Said Lance.

Keith quickly looked down at his hands and was surprised to see he still had his traditional gnarled claws and skin on his forearms slowly bled from white to dark purple at his fingertips. He reached up and touched his horns only to find they were finally completely healed. He was going to end up hitting someone in the face with them.

Lance reached up and touched his horns. “... I could stick a basketball between them.”

“Very funny Lance. What the fuck do we do now?”

“I think we check in? Like, where Kolivan and Krolia are?” He gestured to the witches that were standing by a desk and talking to some person with a beak. Before he could say anything, lance was walking over to them.

He grinned at them. “Hey there. Lance McClain.”

The person behind the desk trilled and started looking through a giant book. “... McClain… McClain… Ah yes! You’re here for the F.D.A.W.W.C.A?”

“Yep.”

They nodded and continued to look through their book. “You are… a Warlock?”

“Yep.”

“Do you have a familiar or partner?”

“Yep.” Lance gestured for Keith to come a little closer. “This is my boyfriend, Keith.”

Keith awkwardly waved. “Hi.”

“Hi.” The person quickly jotted down a few notes. “Alright… Quick question about your partner… What kind of demon are they? We just need to know for dietary needs, and to make sure the room we give you will be environmentally friendly to you.”

“I’m a Sin-Eater.”

They nodded and handed an amulet over to Lance. “Alright Mr McClain. Your room is in purgatorium. Room 707. The first meeting will start at seven in the morning tomorrow. You’re free to use the facilities as you see fit.”

“Thanks.” Lance smiled and gently held Keith’s hand. “Let’s go to our room.”

Keith nodded and followed Lance. He didn’t really know what was going on, but Lance seemed to be able to navigate himself well enough and he found their room. Lance seemed a little confused for a moment when he was trying to figure out how to open the door. It seemed like he needed to put the amulet up to the door handle and it unlocked.

It was a very nice room. There was a huge nest in the middle of the room and the way it was decorated it reminded Keith a lot like a cave. It was calming. He liked it. He couldn’t help but explore around the room. Was this what normal resort rooms look like? If so, Keith liked it. He decided to continue to explore the room just to see what else was there.

***

While Keith was busy looking around Lance flopped down into the nest. This place was nice, but it did look like they were in a cave. Kind of. Maybe that was the point? He wasn’t sure. Maybe the change of scenery would help him feel better? Even if he didn’t really feel better maybe it would help get rid of his sleep paralysis demon.

He reached over the side of the nest and grabbed a pamphlet that was there listing all the services that they had. They had all the usual things he would expect like saunas, massages and so on. However they had a few more questionable things that made Lance raise an eyebrow; lava baths, scale peels, 100% UV sun rooms, sulfuric acid face peels, and horn polishing.

Obviously those weren’t meant for him, a lowly human that would fucking die if he did any of thise things, apart from the horn polishing thing, but he didn’t have horns in the first place. Maybe Keith would like it? He wasn’t sure. He’s ask him.

“Yo Keith… Keith? … Where you at demon boy?”

Lance didn’t get much of a response, so he got up and went to look for Keith. He found him in the bathroom. Clothes off and swimming around in what looked like an underground pool. The only reason Lance even knew it was a bathroom was the fact there was a toilet and sink off in a corner of the room only slightly obstructed by a few strategically placed rocks.

“... Holy shit! It’s like a pool!”

Keith swam up to the side and grinned at him. “Yeah. It’s like the pond back home. But like, warmer.”

“This is just a larger bath but made to look like it’s in a cave…” Said Lance. “Why the hell can you swim around in this but get all weird about using a bathtub?”

“Bathtubs are stupid.” He reached out and grabbed Lance by the ankle. “You like water right? Come in with me. There’s more than enough room for the both of us.”

Lance frowned a little and took a step back from the edge. “I still have to unpack stuff and then I want to look around the place. Plus I already had a bath before we came here.”

“You bath all the time though?”

“Not as much as you seem to think I do.”

Keith poked his tongue out at Lance. “Fine. I’ll be out in a few minutes. You do your human stuff.” He dived under the water before Lance could say anything else. Lance just shook his head and headed back to the nest.

He could have waited around for a bit and watch Keith swim around. Keith did have one hell of a body and Lance could watch him doing anything naked all day. He was hot and he was his boyfriend. Sue him. But Lance was pretty sure he’d have many opportunities to see his boyfriend strut his stuff while they were there. He was in no rush.


	4. Angel vs Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like all my good ideas I had them while I was in the shower. I was thinking more about this and that and I suddenly got a silly idea, you know the ones that are like; "What is this happens" and you laugh it off and wonder but how will that even work and then your mind goes "How will this work? Hee, hee, hee, bitch hold my beer. You ain't seen nothing yet." Then your mind doze like a million things that make you go whoa, how are you so smart? Then your brain goes; "Hee, that smudge on that tile looks like a bird." Then you're back to dumb shit? That's generally my thought process when it comes to my stories. In other words, enjoy my dumb ass brain farts. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Of all the things Lance could have argued with Keith, he didn’t think it would be pants. Yes pants. For some reason Keith didn’t think he had to wear any while he was there since he was a demon, and angels and demons were allowed here, that he shouldn’t have to wear pants. He never wore clothes before he came to earth anyway.

“You need pants!”

“No I don’t!”

“Yes you do!”

“I thought you liked seeing me without my pants?!”

Lance went red. “Yeah, I don’t like it when other people are staring at your dick though.”

“WHY ARE HUMANS SO HUNG UP ABOUT CLOTHES?!”

“MODESTY!”

“FUCK YOU I’M NOT WEARING PANTS!”

“WE COULD GET KICKED OUT! WE JUST CHECKED IN!”

“FUCK YOU!”

“LATER!” Lance had to look through all the pamphlets before he found one about dress codes. “HA! Says right here that all bipedal guests have to either wear pants, skirts, loincloths or togas while outside their rooms. You have to wear pants, or are you planning on wearing a loincloth?”

“... Fuck you.” Keith reluctantly pulled his pants back on but complained about it the whole time.

When Keith was actually dressed again, Lance dragged him outside to have a bit of a look around. Keith seemed to be dragging his heels, but Lance wanted to know where everything was. A few other people seemed to be in agreement as there were several people from all walks of life walking around. When they passed people they would give Lance a nod of acknowledgement and he would do the same.

Lance eventually found where the pools were. He saw several merpeople having a good time just relaxing in the water. He wondered if it would be okay to join them or if they would try and eat him. He knew for a fact that mermaids probably ate people if the old sailor stories were true. But maybe that was sirens? He wasn’t sure.

Keith scoffed a little and rolled his eyes. “Seriously?’

“What?”

“You want to go swimming in there. With them.” Said Keith. He gestured to the merpeople. “You’ll still be wearing those weird shorts. If we were swimming in our room you wouldn’t have to wear pants.”

“True, but merpeople… You jealous or something?”

“No. I just think it’s dumb you’d want to swim there with them rather than in our room.”

“You think a lot of things are dumb.”

“A lot of things are dumb.”

The two continued to talk as they walked around some more. Much to both their surprise they found a bar where a lot of people were hanging out. Some looked like elves and maybe trolls. Some were demonic looking and literally did look like they crawled out of hell. Others did have an air of elegance that kind of made Lance think they had to be angels or heavenly hosts, or whatever lived up in heaven.

He did manage to see a few groups of people that he assumed were humans. So probably witches or warlocks. His eyes fell on a small group of four. They stood out a little since they seemed to be a group, but were wearing casual clothes. Kolivan said witches liked to be in similar clothes right? So maybe they were a group of warlocks?

One of the people, a girl with dark skin and green eyes spotted Lance and smiled at him. He smiled back at her. She walked over to him with a drink in hand. “Oh hey there. Nice to see another humanoid around, even if they are with a demon…” She smiled and held her hand out. “Name’s Nadia Rizavi. Iscariot organization.”

Lance was a little surprised, but shook her hand. “Lance McClain. Warlock. This is Keith he’s my-”

“Summoned.” Interrupted Keith. “Lance is my Summoner. He summoned me.”

Nadia nodded and waved over the other people she was talking to. “It’s still good to meet you. These are the other members of the organization; Ryan Kinkade, and Ina Leifsdottir. We might look young but we’re pretty much the best of the best at what we do.”

The woman, Ina, just shrugged. “Considering we’re constantly going out to slay demons it’s kind of a given that we’d eventually become the best. Everyone else getting murdered tends to do that.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. I totally get it. Demons are something I try not to mess with.” The group glanced at Keith. “... Keith’s a bit of a long, long, long, extremely convoluted, story… Honestly it’s best not to think too hard about it.”

“I’d think so.” Said Ryan as he slowly looked over Keith. Said demon was eyeing the fourth member of their group yet to be introduced or say anything. He looked similar to the others, but he had a burning hatred in his eyes as he glared at Keith. To be fair Keith was glaring back with just as much animosity.

“What are you glaring at?” Snapped the mystery man. “Got something to say? What’s the matter? Can’t talk unless your master lets you?”

Keith snarled a little. “Yeah. I got something to say. Who the fuck do you think you are? Looking at me like I just took a shit in your nest when I haven’t even done anything to you. Is that how the Iscariot's treat everyone?”

The man was about to snap again when Ryan quickly cut in. “Calm down James… He isn’t part of the Iscariot's… Not full time anyway. He’s more of an ambassador. James is an angel. Specifically a Power.”

“A Power?” Questioned Keith.

“Yep.” Said Ina. “Guy’s usually walking around with his body completely covered in marble-like plates made from his bones and sporting six red wings.”

Hearing that made some of the colour drain from Lance’s face as he quickly glanced between Keith and this James guy. That sounded oddly like what Keith looked like during their fight at the Diabazaal coven. So he really was part angel? That wasn’t just everyone projecting because Keith suddenly sprouted wings? This was mildly terrifying and Lance didn’t know what the fuck was going to happen now.

Keith seemed just as surprised to hear what a Power was. “Oh… That is…”

James glared at him and took a step forward, getting right up in Keith’s face. “What? Got something to say Sin-Eater? Your kind disgust me. Even more so than a typical demon. You’re just corruption. A mistake. The product of a freak accident. You and your kind-”

“My kind?” Growled Keith. “A mistake? A freak? If you ever say that again to me I will rip off your fucking wings and shove them up your ass!”

“I’d like to see you try.” Snarled James.”If you ever fucking-” He attempted to jab his finger at Keith but Lance quickly put his hand out in front James’s There seemed to be an invisible force between them. James was trying to push against it but he was having no such luck. He was straining and glancing between Keith and Lance.

Lance took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He had no idea what on earth was happening, but just rolling with it. He needed to sound confident and like he knew what he was doing. “That’s enough. Don’t do that again. Back off.”

James was going to snap at him when Ryan put his hand on James’s arm and lowered it. “Look, we don’t want trouble here. We were just introducing ourselves. Right James?”

“... Right.” He shrugged Ryan’s hand off and stormed off.

Ina rolled her eyes and went after James. “Always with this bullshit.”

Nadia sighed and shook her head. “Sorry about that. You know how angels and demons can be some times. See you guys around.” She quickly went after Ina and James. Ryan muttered a goodbye and followed them.

When they were gone Lance glanced over at Keith. “So… you are an angel?”

“I guess? This is… weird…”

“Yeah… And I got downgraded to Summoner?”

Keith shrugged. “I thought since Kolivan said that the Iscariot's kill demons that they might not take too kindly to a human and a demon dating.”

“Ah, demon racism.”

“Yeah…”

“Lance! Keith!” Called an all too familiar voice. Allura quickly ran to them and hugged them both tightly. “It’s been a while. How are you two? How long has it been since we’ve last met up? A month?”

Lance flailed a little but hugged her back. “Yeah. About a month.” He took a step back and looked at her. Allura was wearing a floor length, blue, white, and gold dress. “... So you got an invitation to this place too?”

“Of course I did… Well my father did, but since he is planning on abdicating soon he lets me perform these duties.” She said. “So yeah, I am technically a princess, but in a few hundred years I’m going to be queen.”

Lance was shocked. “Whoa, I didn’t even realise you were royalty! How did this never come up in conversation before?”

She shrugged. “You never asked. Anyway, Coran is here too. Just trying to find the bathroom… For some reason they move it every year.”

“Harsh.”

“Yeah, so how are you two liking it so far?”

Keith shrugged. “Our bathtub is basically a pool.”

“Do all the rooms look like caves?”

Allura shook her head. “The rooms are made to make the occupants the most comfortable. For example, the room Coran and I are sharing is much more earth themed with lots of fresh flowers and plants. It’s very beautiful. I hope you two enjoy your room.”

“It’s nice.” Said Lance. “So… Who is running the shop while you guys are here.”

“My wife.” Keith and Lance stared at her in shock. Their shock and confusion must have been amusing to Allura because she started laughing. “Yes I am married. I have been married for about fifty human years. The wedding was beautiful. Romelle looked stunning in her dress. It was a blend of spider silk and unicorn hair.”

“Oh my god…” Muttered Keith. “I’m a fucking idiot… I got jealous over nothing…”

“So you’re married and you’re a princess?” Asked Lance. “What else haven’t you told us? You pregnant or something? Have a few kids?”

“Oh please Lance. Romelle and I have only been together for fifty years. We’re only just ending our honeymoon stage. We’re still deciding if we want a classic home or if we are just going to continue living in my family’s castle after the abdication.”

Lance nodded slowly. “Right… I’m guessing Elves don’t wear wedding rings?”

She shrugged. “Wedding rings are a human invention… Plus elves are a little more… We have a bit of a reputation for being a little… promiscuous and polyamerous than most others… Anyway, enough about me. Have you two decided to use the facilities? You need to make bookings for massages and things of that nature at the front desk.”

“Will do Allura.”

Keith frowned a little and kept looking around. “I’m going to find Kolivan… You stay around here with Allura and Coran.”

“Why are you looking for him?”

“I need to ask about the Iscariot's.”

“Ah, alright. Go ahead. I’ll be here.”

***

To say Keith was shocked was an understatement. Allura stuff aside, he actually got some verbal confirmation from an actual angel that his physical transformation was that of a real angel. It wasn’t just some random bodily mutation that just happened. Did Kolivan know about this? Did Krolia? He needed to know.

It took him a little while to find the scent of either of them, but he eventually managed to track them down to their room. He knocked on their door and waited. Moments later Krolia opened the door. She seemed a little surprised.

“Keith?”

“I ran into the Iscariot's.”

She gasped and quickly pulled him inside. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine, kind of… Hi Kolivan.”

Kolivan put down the book he was reading and looked over at them. “Hello Keith. What is this about the Iscariots?”

“I happened to talk to them. They had an angel with them.” He said. “A Power named James.”

“Yes. They usually have him with them… He’s one of the few heavenly hosts that tend to visit this realm. Though since he is a Power we try not to interact with him. If we do we are usually on opposing teams. Why?”

“Apparently Sin-Eaters are corrupt angels.” Said Keith. “At least that’s what he said.”

That statement seemed to confuse the two witches. “Demons aren’t angels.” Said Krolia. “You’re a demon Keith.”

“Yeah, but he seemed to know about me. He knew I was a Sin-Eater. How much do you know about angels anyway?” Asked Keith. “Sin-Eaters don’t really fit in with other demons anyway. We eat sin. It’s in our names. We technically punish sinners. Most demons try to make humans sin as much as possible…”

Krolia looked very unhappy. “We don’t… We don’t deal with those from the heavenly realm… I don’t think… Akira never talked once about any angels… Maybe he didn’t know?”

“We’ll need to look into this.” Said Kolivan calmly. 

Keith nodded a little and leaned against the wall. This wasn’t what he expected to find out about himself. Heck, he only expected to be Lance’s bodyguard and protect him from his own stupidity. He loved the man but when he was in stressful situations he said and did stupid things. Like when he stopped James from pointing his finger at him. If James had been verbally yelling at Lance he was pretty sure Lance might have panicked and launched James into the wall. Something he really shouldn’t be doing.

But now he had apparently pissed off an angel just by existing. Did other angels feel the same way? He hoped not. He had no idea. The last thing he and Lance needed was a bunch of angels coming after him and wanting his blood.

What did it mean if he was an angel anyway? Could he actually go to places blessed by those from the heavenly realm without catching fire, like he had been taught would happen to him? There were only a small handful of places he knew he would definitely catch fire if he went there, allegedly; some place in the middle east, several mountains in Asia, and Antarctica. He still wasn’t sure why some heavenly body would bless Antarctica, but that was a thing. Maybe they liked ice or penguins?

Sure Keith had long since come to terms to being half demon and half human, and even then Krolia was beast-blooded so he was pretty much a quarter human, but still. Having angel heritage was something practically unheard of when it came to demons. Maybe it happened more than he thought and the parents just hit it well? He had no real way of knowing… And it wasn’t like his dar was an angel. He was a demon… Were Sin-Eaters really corrupted angels? He had no idea.

Did it even really matter? Maybe? He wasn’t sure. Keith was confused. He liked it better when he just thought spontaneously sprouting wings and armour when he ate Lance was random. Just a random thing. But now he had to deal with this along with the Iscariots', James possibly trying to kill him and Lance possibly doing something really dumb.

“This… This is going to be a real long stay…”


	5. First meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance meets many people, new and old... While Keith tries to figure out what makes spa's relaxing. He's not having a very good time. I appreciate feedback, especially when it comes to series. You never know how people are going to react. So I really appreciate the feedback you all have given me so far <3
> 
> Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

That night Lance got another visit from the sleep paralysis demon. It slowly stalked around the edge of the nest. It reached out every once in a while and ghosted its fingers over Lance’s body. It sent shivers down Lance’s spine, but again he couldn’t move. He just watched it moving around as it menacingly whispered to him.

_“Give it back.”_ It said as it leaned in closer to him. _“Give it back. I want that body back. Give it back. Hand it over to me. I want it back. You gave it to me. Give it back.”_

Lance tried to steady his breathing. He hated this. He just wanted this thing to go away. Why couldn’t he have a better dream? Like one where he is chilling with Keith? Maybe in a compromising position? Naked? Sex. Lance wanted to have a sex dream, or just sex in general. It had been about a week since they had sex. Keith had crazy stamina and the last time they found the time to have sex the literally destroyed a-

_“DON’T IGNORE ME!”_ Yelled the sleep paralysis demon. It was leaning in close now. Its eye staring intently at him. Almost jittering slightly as it stared at him. _“DON’T IGNORE ME! DON’T IGNORE ME! DON’T IGNORE ME! DON’T IGNORE ME! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU FILTHY PIG! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK!”_

Lance gulped and just stared at him. There wasn’t anything he could do. He was just staring at this demon thing while it constantly yelled at him. He was just screaming at him until Lance was able to wake up in the morning. Once again he felt like shit. He needed to talk to Allura about getting something to get rid of his sleep paralysis.

He tried to get up, but Keith held him down. “... Keith. Let me up.”

“Don’t wanna.” He muttered. “Sleep.”

“I want to get up and pee.”

“Don’t care. Stay.”

“You want me to piss in the nest?”

“... You have a dick. You can aim.”

“I’m not going to try and aim my piss out of the nest. Let me out.”

Keith grumbled but let him out of the nest. “If you’re not back in five minutes I’m coming to find you.”

“Alright.” Lance got up and went to the bathroom. He didn’t really need to go, but he needed to make himself look presentable to the rest of the world. He washed his face and did his normal morning routine. Once he felt like he looked suitably normal he walked back out.

Keith was leaning against the side of the nest, watching him with sleepy eyes. His hair was a complete mess. It made Lance smile. He walked over to the demon and combed his fingers through his hair. Keith closed his eyes and made pleased sounds as he leaned into Lance’s hands.

“You going to come out to find me?” He asked.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Gonna make sure you didn’t fall into the bath or something.”

“Aw, gonna make sure I didn’t drown?”

“Yep.”

“Hmm, sleep well?”

“Next to you? Always.”

“That’s good… I love you Keith.”

“Love you too Lance… I’m hungry.”

“They have room service here or some buffet style thing we could go to.”

Keith shrugged. “I’m good with whatever… But considering there are all kinds of demons here you might want to eat in here. Some of the food’s demons eat… It can be pretty gross. At least I just eat meat.”

“... Fair enough.”

After a quick breakfast the pair ended up going back down to the front desk because they were completely lost as to where this meeting was meant to be held. On the way there they happened to run into a short man wearing a mustard coloured suit in the elevator. He looked like he was talking on some kind of phone.

“No Bii-Boh-Bi.” He said. “I want to jazz it up a little. Everyone expects Pictation. We always play Pictation… Stretchy, stretch Weblum face? Never heard of it… U-huh? Yeah? I see? … Talk to Norlax and see what he thinks about that. We need to toss in a new game every once in a while. Okay, gotta go Bii-Boh-Bi. Just put on some reruns. The Paladin’s episode always gets good ratings. I’ll only be gone for a week… Tell Norlax I said hi.” He hung up and looked up at Keith and Lance. “Hi there. I’m Bob. You two here for the meeting?”

Lance nodded a little and tried to be friendly. “Yeah. I’m Lance. I’m a Warlock and this is Keith. My um… I summoned him.”

Bob nodded and smiled. “Ah, so you would be Marcello’s nephew huh? Considering all the things you went through you seem to be shaping up pretty well.”

Lance suddenly felt extremely uneasy. “You knew Marcello?”

“Yep.” He said with a smile. “He was a strange man. I knew a lot of people eager to meet the man that Lady Beatrice had given the duty of guarding a gate to hell to… But then the idiot went and got killed, so now they have you. Hope you live up to their expectations.”

“... Cool.” He muttered. “Alright… No pressure…”

Bob chuckled a little. “You’ll do fine. These meetings are pretty boring anyway. Just sit around, nod along and don’t butt in unless you’re being asked a question or know what you’re talking about. It’s all good.”

The doors opened and they got off together. Bob was happy enough to show them the meeting room, but Keith was stopped at the door. Apparently Summoned demons, familiars and partners were not allowed inside at all. It made Lance uneasy and royally pissed Keith off. He protested but it was inevitable. He was pretty much locked out while Lance walked in.

The whole place looked like a pretty typical meeting room. There was a large table made out of some colour shifting stone that definitely wasn’t from earth. The chairs were all different shapes and sizes to accommodate different beings that might have tails or oddly shaped legs. There were little placards with names on the table in front of the chairs.

Lance eventually found what he assumed was his chair and sat down. He was sat in between a tall woman with fish features and a man that looked like his head was made from a snail shell. He decided to try and at least be a little friendly with them. He started with the woman.

“Hey there.” He said. “I’m Lance McClain. Warlock.”

The woman looked over at him and smiled. “I’m Queen Luxia of the Pacific mers. The largest and most influential of Earth’s mer population. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Lance was shocked. Apparently he was going to be meeting a lot of royalty. “Oh cool! So you’re from Earth? That’s awesome. Gotta say, I love the ocean. Doing what I can to try and keep it clean.”

She chuckled. “That’s good to know. So this is your first time coming to one of these meetings? We don’t get very many warlocks at these. Whatever you have done must have been pretty impressive to catch the attention of the gods.”

Lance shrugged. “Ah, I think it’s more of a circumstantial thing in my case. I’m not very good at magic or anything. I’m just kind of on guard duty mostly.”

Luxia nodded knowingly. “I see, so you’re like the Arusian King there.” She gestured to the short man on the other side of Lance. “The Arusian’s are-”

“-I can speak for myself!” Snapped the King. He glared at Luxia for a moment before he turned his attention to Lance. “I’m the Arusian King. We’re the most powerful kingdom in the Feudal swamps. It’s one of the most dangerous places in hell.”

Luxia scoffed. “They are just glorified bookkeepers.”

“Excuse me? What did you just call me?”

“Oh, you heard me.”

Lance shrank back in his seat. Who the hell decided to put him in between two monarchs that were clearly on bad terms with each other? This was going to be a long, long meeting.

***

Keith was pacing around the hallway as more people walked into the room. He was anxious and wanted to make sure that Lance was alright. But he wasn’t allowed in. He felt like shit. He watched Allura walk in with Coran happily seeing her off.

When he saw Keith he grinned and walked over to him. “Hello Keith. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I’m guessing Lance is in there?” 

Keith tried to return Coran’s happy and chipper tone, but he knew this was struggling. “Hey Coran.”

“Are you waiting for Lance to come out? It’s going to be a long time.”

“I can wait.”

“Hmm, well you could, but you would quickly get bored… How about you come with me for a bit? I was going to hit up the sauna. You don’t have to book a time for it.”

Keith glanced back towards the door. “I don’t know…” 

“Lance would probably want you to relax and have a good time. It’s not too far away from here anyway.”

“... I guess?”

Coran grinned and he dragged Keith off to the sauna. In a few minutes Keith had a towel loosely wrapped around his hips. He had to tie his hair up in a messy ponytail so all the sweat wouldn’t make his hair stick to his neck and face. He sighed heavily and tried to relax. He didn’t really get how this was meant to be relaxing. It was too hot and he was sweating from places he didn’t know he could sweat.

Coran seemed to be having a good time. He was happy to talk to a few other people that were in there. One looked kind of like a turtle and the other was some kind of salamander. Keith sighed and tilted his head back, watching all the steam swirl around his head. So much steam.

The door creaked open and Krolia walked in. The sauna, like pretty much all of the facilities here were unisex so no one batted an eye when she came in. “Morning.” She greeted.

“Ah, hello Krolia!” Said Coran in his chipper tone. “How’s things going?”

“Everything’s fine.” She said. She took a seat next to Keith. “Hello Keith. How was your evening?”

“It was fine… How long do these meetings go for?”

“A few hours. They should break for lunch eventually.” Krolia sighed contently and closed her eyes. “This is nice.”

“Yeah… Why aren’t you in the meeting?”

“Well, while all coven members can technically go to the meeting we don’t have to. Kolivan is happy to go by himself and I am happy to let him. Gives me more time to relax, so I can’t complain.”

“Yeah…” Keith still didn’t understand what could be so relaxing about sitting in a sauna. This amount of sweat was uncomfortable. After a few more minutes Keith went to get up. Krolia was also going to get out too. Keith couldn’t help but sigh in relief. The cool air felt nice.

Krolia nudged his arm. “Put on your swimming trunks and we can go into the pool.” 

“... What?”

“... Give me two seconds. Wait here.” She quickly walked away and came back a few minutes later wearing what Keith assumed was underwear. He thought humans were embarrassed about walking around in their underwear in public? Maybe it was different here? It didn’t matter much when Krolia handed him a pair of shorts that felt like plastic. He put them on and followed Krolia into the pool. He stayed in the shallows and enjoyed how cool it was.

He wondered how Lance was going. He hoped that things were going okay with him. He was also wondering what Shiro was doing. Maybe he was going on another date with Adam? Maybe he was finally going to tell him the truth?

It had been very hard for Shiro to come to terms with everything. He was finally letting go of his guilt. Things were going well with Adam. They were moving forward. If he was able to have a normal relationship with him and like this incarnation of Adam for who he is and not who he was… maybe there was a chance for them? He didn’t know. He hoped so. Shiro deserved something nice to happen to him. Especially after the terrible year that he’d had. Getting tortured and mutilated was not fun.

Keith was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when a mer jumped into the pool and created a big enough splash to almost completely toss him out. Keith did not understand spas at all. How the hell was any of this meant to be relaxing?

***

By the time the meeting was over Lance wanted to die. It was just a lot of screaming and arguing. It drove him mental. He just wanted to get the hell out of there. What was the point of these meetings anyway? He had no idea. Did someone mention it? Was there some goal? He didn’t know!

The second Lance was free he got the hell out of there. He wanted to run, but that might have appeared weird, so he powerwalked. And he pretty much power walked right into someone. He quickly jumped back and started to quickly apologize. “I am so, so sorry. I really need to watch where I am going.”

“No need to apologize.” Said the man. “I honestly don’t blame you for running put of there as soon as possible.”

Lance smiled a little. “Yeah… I’m Lance by the way, Lance McClain.”

The man almost did a double take when he said his name. “You’re Lance? You’re not…? I guess it didn’t work out as well as he thought it would… I’m Lotor. I believe you and your friends killed my parents and destroyed the Diabazaal coven a few months ago.”

All the colour drained from Lance’s face. “Oh I um… t-to be fair Marcello was the one that did most of the killing and-”

Lotor put his hand up to stop his ramblings. “I hold no ill will against you or your friends. My parents were dead to me long before Marcello came along. If anything what happened between them was assisted suicide. They needed to die. They just needed a little push in the right direction.”

“R-right… So you aren’t mad at me?”

“Not at all.” Said Lotor. “If anything I am indebted to you and your friends. Without you I wouldn’t have been able to leave and start my own coven.” He smiled a little. “So I guess I should be kind and extend an invitation to you and your friends. If any of them are interested they may join our new coven. We’re still in the early stages right now.”

“R-right… I’ll keep that in mind… Bye.” Lance quickly moved away from Lotor and down the hallway. There was just something about Lotor that just gave him the creeps. He tried to put that out of his head. He needed to focus on finding Keith. He took a few deep breaths to try and clear his mind.

Over the past few weeks he had become better at tracking and pinpointing where Keith was. It wasn’t very direct, but he always had a general idea of where Keith was. His mind would drop him hints. Everything from small visions of Keith’s surroundings to feelings and smells. He suddenly felt damp, like he was in water, and he could smell hints of chemical cleaners. The pool. Keith was at the pool.


	6. Reincarnation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got really into writing this chapter. When this popped into my head I was like "Yes! Yeeeeees! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!" Hope you guys all like it. I have been thinking about this chapter for a while. Really hope you think it's good. Also if anyone cares I was listening to "Dead memories" by Slipknot while writing this. I feel like it's going to be the theme song for Adam, Shiro, and Curtis throughout this story. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

_Why?_

Again and again the needle pierced the soft flesh of his arm. 

_Why?_

He didn’t know how many times his flesh had been pricked but it was enough to make his skin turn red under fresh and dried blood. When they were done with one arm they started on the other. They needed to be through with this. It was an important part of his supposed test. It still didn’t mean it was any less painful.

_Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?_

Needles driven into his body. Every part. Over and over again. Sometimes in the same spot twice. The man doing this to him would just speak in a cold and calming voice. Like this was just a typical medical procedure. Whenever he spoke calmly they would drive the needle particularly deep into his flesh.

_Why? Why is this happening? Why? Just why? Why is this happening? It hurts! Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?_

One of the needles pressed into his skin but it didn’t pierce his flesh. Not this time. The person seemed to be happy enough with the pain and humiliation they caused him. But then the chanting started. Chanting that chilled him to his very core.

“WITCH! WITCH! WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!”

***

Adam’s eyes snapped open as he bolted up in his bed. He was panting heavily. He’d been having weird dreams like that for months. Witch films and literature always got to him. His fault for getting his students to read The Witch of Blackbird Pond. He needed to talk to someone about changing the syllabus.

He looked over at his clock and saw that he only had five minutes until the alarm went off again. With a reluctant sigh, Adam got up and had a quick shower. His skin was tingling all over after that dream. It made his skin itchy. It was awful. Like he had been bitten repeatedly by insects.

Adam walked out to the kitchen where Curtis had already made him coffee. He just took the cup and sat at the table, grunting out a greeting.

“Well good morning to you too.” He said with a smile. “You sleep okay? You look like shit.”

“Eh, witch dreams again.”

Curtis shook his head. “I don’t know what it is about you and witches. You two just don’t mix at all huh?”

“Yeah…” Adam closed his eyes and drank some more coffee, doing his best to just let the caffeine wash over him and wake him up. “... Oh yeah, remember that Shiro is coming over tonight. So behave.”

Curtis looked hurt. “Just for that I’m telling him all the embarrassing stories about you.”

“Rude.”

His friend smiled and patted Adam’s back. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to cramp your style… But if you two are going to screw give me a little head’s up. I’ll need to dig out my noise cancelling headphones.”

Adam rolled his eyes and lightly hit his arm. “Oh shut up. Shiro probably won’t even stay the night. He probably has work tomorrow.”

“Probably?”

Adam sighed dramatically and finished his coffee. “I told you already. Shiro is a butler. While his boss is very nice, hell he’s an ex student of mine, Shiro does a bunch of small things in the morning when he wakes up.”

“... Afraid of commitment?”

“Probably, or at least sex… Maybe he feels weird about it because he’s missing an arm? Apparently it’s a recent thing and you know, could shatter your self confidence?”

Curtis shrugged. “Maybe? A lot of things can mess up your libido… Or you know, lots of other reasons. Still going to look for my headphones.”

“Yeah, and like that you’re walking to work.” Adam grabbed his keys and backpack.

“Hey!” Curtis grabbed his satchel and quickly followed his friend. “I know you’re not a morning person but damn!”

Adam wasn’t an asshole. He dropped Curtis off at the train station like he did every morning before he drove to work. He had a few classes that day, but he easily breezed through them. He was preoccupied with thoughts of Shiro. They were just going to have an easy dinner and watch a movie. Something simple. Shiro seemed really excited about it.

Truthfully, Adam was too. He hadn’t let previous dates come over to his place since forever. It was this unspoken rule. If he ever hooked up with anyone it was always either at their place or at a hotel. He didn’t bring people over unless he felt like there was something there. He felt like there was something there with Shiro. He hoped that Shiro would feel the same.

Eventually the end of the day came and Adam walked out to see Shiro was waiting for him again. He smiled at Adam with that award winning smile. It made his heart flutter a little in his chest.

“Hey Adam.” Shiro leaned in and kissed Adam’s cheek. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go. Hope you like frozen, store-bought lasagna.”

There was a moment where Shiro’s face went blank, like he was trying to figure out what he just said, before he quickly bounced back and smiled. “Hey, as long as I’m with you I don’t mind what we eat or what we do.”

***

After finding Keith at the pool they two of them headed back to their room to relax for a bit. Keith whined a lot about saunas and almost getting drowned by a mer. Lance thought he was over exaggerating. Keith then proceeded to sulk in the nest for the next few hours. 

Not really wanting to be around a sulking demon for the next few hours Lance decided to slip down to the bar to see if Allura or Coran was there. He didn’t get a chance to ask either of them about possible cures for sleep paralysis.

When he got to the bar he happily greeted the bartender and sensibly asked for something that wouldn’t kill a human. In a few minutes Lance was handed some strange drink that looked like he was drinking a nebula. It tasted like Autumn.

As he looked around for a place to sit by himself and finish his drink he happened to see Nadia and Ryan talking to themselves. Ryan noticed him and waved him over. Nadia seemed confused for a second before she spotted Lance and waved at him. 

Feeling slightly obligated now, Lance walked over and sat with them. “Hey guy. Where’s Ina and James?”

“Ina’s getting a massage.” Said Naida. “And I think James is in the sun room doing his whole weird photosynthesis thing. Angels are weird.”

Lance nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I don’t know much about angels, but they are probably just as weird and freaky as demons.”

Ryan shrugged. “Depends. Some demons are easier to understand than others.”

Nadia chuckled. “Yeah, remember fighting that Chimera back In Athens?” She closed one eye and started putting on a comical voice. “I said cut off their head? Why did you cut off the tail! I meant the lion head! The lion head!”

Her impression must have hit home for Ryan because he grinned and started to laugh. “He was such an asshole about it too. Then again I think Iverson was just mad because he died.”

Nadia shrugged. “Well he chewed us out a few decades later when he got back to the Iscariot HQ. Hope it made him realise we need clearer instructions.”

Lance was quickly becoming confused. Someone they knew died? Then he came back? Was this because they had some weird healing magic things going on? He had no idea. It was so weird. Magic was weird. Iscariots were strange. He needed more alcohol. Maybe his drink didn’t have alcohol in it? He took a large gulp. Yeah, there was alcohol in it.

He cleared his throat a little. “So… Um… The meeting was pretty crazy huh? I got placed between two monarchs that didn’t seem to like each other much. I probably got placed there as a buffer.

“More than likely.” Said Ryan. “All the royalty seems to be at each other’s throats. It’ll be fine tomorrow. Maybe… These things are crazy.”

“Yeah, everything is kind of hectic.” Agreed Nadia. “But hey, when I get to live my life again maybe it will be a good one, you know? Third time’s the charm, as they say.”

“Third time?” Asked Lance.

Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh that’s right, you wouldn’t know!”

Ryan chuckled. “Of course he wouldn’t know. It’s not like the Iscariot’s advertise that part.”

“Is it okay if we tell him then?” She asked.

Ryan thought for a moment. “Well, no harm in letting you know I guess… So when you become a full member of the Iscariot’s you make a deal with your soul. One lifetime of service dedicated to killing demons. In return we are reborn decades down the line with no memory of our past lives so we can live the life we should have lived but couldn’t.”

“That isn’t to say we can’t remember.” Said Nadia. “If we happen to remember we are obliged to go back to the organisation and continue our work. Another lifetime of service and then the cycle continues.”

Lance nodded along. He didn’t really know what to think about this. “So… You guys have died before? But how do you remember you’re part of the Iscariot’s?”

“Triggers.” Said Nadia. “Everyone has something that will trigger their memory. My trigger is food. There’s this very specific taste. A specific blend of spices that will make my mind remember everything. Kind of annoying when you live in a middle eastern household. I’m always going to come back to the Iscariot’s… This is Ryan’s fifth time around. Ina’s on her second life.”

“Really?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah. It’s kind of annoying. A certain combination of sounds and smells will trigger my memory. Living five lifes is annoying. But it is interesting to see how everything has changed.”

“I’d guess so…” Muttered Lance. “I mean, I’ve died too… Pretty messed up man.”

Nadia nodded. “Yeah. My goriest one was getting cut in half guts everywhere. Bled out in seconds but it was fucked up.”

“Parasites.” Said Ryan. “I do not recommend in the slightest.”

Lance shuddered a little. “Yeah. I got cut open. Luckily an artery got hit and I bleed out in seconds.”

“That’s rough.” Said Ryan. “Your first time dying?”

“Yeah, and hopefully the last.” He looked over to the bar and saw Allura and Coran entering. He smiled a little and stood up. “Well it was nice talking to you guys. I’ve gotta get going.”

“Sure thing. Later Lance.” Said Nadia.

Lance smiled and quickly went over to his friends. “Hey Allura! Coran! I have a question for you guys concerning sleep paralysis…”

***

The date with Shiro was going pretty well. At least in Adam’s opinion. They had gone back to his place and Adam put the lasagna in the oven. Shiro smiled and looked around his home. He looked around the apartment for a bit and Adam gave him the so called grand tour. All he did was show Shiro where the bathroom and his own bedroom was.

After that, they settled on the couch to watch some TV. They weren’t really paying attention to it. At least Adam wasn’t. He was too preoccupied with Shiro. They had been on a few dates and he was already completely infatuated with the man. He hadn’t felt that way about any other man before. He probably should have felt disturbed by his feelings, but he didn’t. He felt comfort.

“... Hey Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“You okay with a date like this? I mean, we’ve been going out to places every other time we’ve been together…”

Shiro chuckled. “Adam, this is fine. More than fine. After the nightmare that was the last few months this is a blessing.”

“Yeah you never really said what that was all about. You all got sick or something?”

“Nightmare stomach bug. It was just easier to quarrinteen everyone that was sick to the third floor.” Said Shiro. “Didn’t want to risk anyone getting sick. I swear I’ve become a father of four by accident sometimes.”

Adam chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He smiled and ran his fingers through Adam’s hair. “I’m too young to be a single father of four adults. Hell, looking after Keith was hard enough for me. Kid always wanted me to carry him. Almost forgot he was there half the time and went to lie down, squishing him. He always bit me when I did that.”

“I can imagine him going so.”

Shiro smiled and wrapped his arm around Adam, drawing him closer. “Yeah.”

Just as Adam was getting comfortable against Shiro, Curtis decided to show up back up. “That was a nightmare.” He grumbled. He looked over at Shiro with s surprised expression. “Oh! You must be Shiro.”

Shiro smiled and stood up. He held his hand out to Curtis. “Yeah, I’m Shiro. Nice to meet you.”

Curtis smiled back and shook his hand. There seemed to be a bit of tension between the two of them. At least that’s what Adam thought, but whatever was there seemed to quickly vanish when Curtis smiled at Adam. “I’m going to go get changed. How long until dinner?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Perfect. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”

“Eat a dick Curtis!” Called Adam as he walked out of the room.

Shiro watched Curtis walk away, frowning slightly. “So… How long have you two known each other?”

“We’re childhood friends.” Said Adam. “We’ve known each other since we were old enough to walk. We met in kindergarten and have been friends ever since.”

“That’s nice.”

Soon Curtis came back out in much more casual clothes. By the time he did dinner was ready and the three of them sat down at the table to eat. Talk was kept light and pleasant for the most part with talk about work. Mostly it was directed at Curtis and Adam, but then Curtis started directing questions to Shiro.

“So how long have you been a butler for?” He asked Shiro.

“Oh, a few years.” Said Shiro. “I used to work for Lance’s uncle before he passed away. To be honest Marcello was… He was an interesting man. Pretty sure he was a narcissist with a god complex.”

“And Lance is better?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. He appreciates what Keith and I do around the house… Oh yeah, Keith and Lance are dating now.”

“Lance is gay?” Asked Adam. That was strange. He’d always seen Lance flirt with girls in his class or just walking around the campus. Girls would flirt back too. He didn’t pay any more attention past that since it was dumb stuff that all his students and just students at the university would do anyway.

Shiro shook his head. “No. Lance is bisexual.”

“Ah, okay. Well good for them.” Said Adam.

“Yeah.” Said Curtis. “As long as they are both happy… I hope this isn’t too direct but are your parents okay with you know?” Adam shot Curtis a look. Curtis looked like he had just seen the gates of hell and quickly back peddled. “Hey, it’s just a question! You don’t really need to answer if you don’t want to!”

To Shiro’s credit he just laughed it off. “It’s fine. Really. No, I didn’t have that issue with my parents. My father died when I was a kid and my mother and I aren’t on speaking terms. No real reason for it. She’s just a bitter woman. Keith’s was a really laid back kind of guy. He didn’t seem like the kind of man that would care who Keith wants to be with, and his mum just wants him to be happy.” Curtis looked confused so Shiro clarified. “Keith and I aren’t blood related.”

“Ah, okay.”

After that conversation became a little less heavy and everything went back to lighthearted conversations and anecdotes. After dinner they all continued to talk back on the couch. Well, Adam and Shiro were on the couch. Curtis sat on the chair.

Apart from Curtis asking a slightly inappropriate question, Adam was glad that he and Shiro met. They seemed to be getting along pretty well. Adam was kind of hoping that maybe Shiro would want to stay over, but at ten o’clock on the dot, Shiro excused himself.

“It’s getting pretty late.” He said. “I should think about heading back.”

“Really?” Asked Adam. “You can stay if you like. Curtis doesn’t mind. Do you Curtis?”

“Not at all.”

Shiro smiled politely and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I really have to go. I have to get up early to pick some things up. No one else in the house will be up before midday without an alarm anyway.”

Adam was a little disappointed but showed Shiro the door. “Alright. Let me know when you’re free next okay? Maybe we can do this again?” He leaned in a little closer to Shiro and quietly whispered. “And maybe without Curtis around?”

Shiro’s face went red, which just made Adam grin. “I um… S-sure.” Said Shiro in a flustered manner. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Good. See you next time Shiro.” Adam quickly kissed Shiro on the lips. He took particular joy in seeing Shiro’s face go completely red. He was too adorable.

“S-see you next time Adam.” Shiro almost walked into the door frame and trip into the hallway on his way out. Shiro was such a goof. He loved this idiot so much.

***

Curtis couldn’t help but smile at Adam when Shiro left. He was happy that Adam was happy. He really was. Adam was happy with Shiro and Shiro was happy with Adam, but at the same time he was hesitant. He had good reason to be hesitant too. Adam was his best friend. He had seen Adam getting hurt before and he didn’t want Adam to suffer again.

“Shiro seems nice.”

“Glad to have your approval.” Said Adam with a smile. “He’s really nice…”

“Yeah, he is.” He smiled and put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “If he says or does anything you let me know okay?”

Adam rolled his eyes and lightly shrugged him off. “Always so overprotective of me. Whatever. I’m gonna shower and go to bed. You?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do the same. Night Adam.”

“Night Curtis.”

Curtis walked into his room and closed the door. The second it was closed he dropped the act. Sure he could pretend he was happy for Adam’s sake. He couldn’t stand to see his friend upset. He had made a promise to Adam all those years ago and he wasn’t going to forget it. It didn’t matter how many years passed or what happened to them… This Shiro made him feel uneasy. He had only heard Adam speak about one other Shiro before this and everything… He would give this Shiro the benefit of the doubt for now, but if he truly was the same person.

He shuddered to think what the ramifications would be. He would cross that bridge for Adam when and if the time came. Hopefully it wouldn’t, but it might. It didn’t matter what happened now though. Curtis was going to keep his promise. Even if Adam forgot he would never forget. Curtis was never going to forget the promise he had made to Adam back in 1477.


	7. Gym

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, there is a little smut in the beginning. I am earning that E rating. If you don't care about that you can just skip down to Keith's perspective. It's all good. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Unfortunately for Lance, Allura and Coran couldn’t do much about his sleep paralysis until they got back home. Fair enough, but Lance wanted to have a good night’s sleep while they were here. Oh well. Worst things could happen.

He sighed and headed back to his room. When he walked in he found Keith hunched over the table eating something from a deep bowl. It was obviously flesh of some kind considering the bloody and meaty smell, he was still curious.

“... What are you eating?” Asked Lance.

Keith looked down at the round, pink organ in his hand and then back at Lance. “Sweetbread. Apparently sweetbreads are organs, glands and junk. It sounded interesting so I did the whole room service thing.” He popped the organ into his mouth and happily ate it.

Lance nodded slowly. “I see… What are sweetbreads exactly?”

“Um…” Keith stuck his hand in the bowl and dug through the misshapen organs and glands. “Thymus, pancreas, parotid gland, sublingual glands, ovaries and testicles.” 

“... I regret asking.”

Keith shrugged and ate something that looked like a lump of fat. “Whatever. Tastes nice to me.”

“Glad you like eating raw meat… You know what? I think I’m going to go vegetarian…”

“Lance you were born with canines. Tiny baby canines, but still canines. Use them or lose them.”

He gave Keith a confused look. “Are you threatening to knock my teeth out?”

“Perhaps I am. Get yourself a steak or something.”

“I’m gonna see if they have fish.”

“You’re weak.”

Lance rolled his eyes and ordered himself the first fish dish he could find on the menu. The service was surprisingly fast. It was almost scary how fast it was. Either way it was kind of nice to eat with Keith, even if he couldn’t really look at Keith while he was eating.

When Keith was done eating Lance glanced up at him. The area around his mouth was covered in blood, which was pretty standard at this point. Keith gave Lance a sheepish look and quickly started wiping his mouth with the back of his hands. It almost reminded Lance of a cat trying to groom themselves. Almost.

“... Hey, are you using the toothbrush I gave you?”

“That tiny thing with bristles? I swallowed it.”

“... You what?”

Keith blushed. “Look, it wasn’t my fault. I was doing what you said and I was brushing my teeth and I dropped it.”

“You dropped it? Okay, what exactly were you doing?”

Keith sighed a little and sat back in his chair. “Okay, so I brushed all my teeth that you would consider teeth, then I thought I should probably brush these ones too.” Keith put his hand in his mouth and slowly pulled down on his jaw. He continued to pull down, carefully revealing the true extent of his gaping maw. Dozens of jagged fangs lined the inside of his throat along with several insect-like appendages. Keith had said the insect leg-things were meant to help pull his food inside. Lance had a feeling his food wasn’t typically dead when he ate it.

“Right… So why did you drop your toothbrush?”

Keith closed his mouth and gave himself a moment to readjust himself. “One of the grabbers twitched and knocked it out of my hand… and I dropped it… down my throat… and I ate it.”

Lance face palmed. “Okay… That’s… We can probably get you another one here. Maybe you could use mouthwash?”

“Maybe?”

“... Also how did you not choke to death on that?”

Keith shrugged. “Not sure. I have really strong stomach acid I guess? I mean, I eat bones and stuff like that?”

“I guess…” He sighed and stood up. “Well, I’m going to go and have a bath. Oh, and I signed us up for a couple’s massage tomorrow after the next meeting.”

Keith didn’t look too pleased about getting a massage. “Okay.”

Lance smiled a little and walked into the bathroom. He quickly got undressed and into the water. It was just the right temperature to completely make him relax. He leaned up against the side and closed his eyes. So this was his life now. Were there more of these weird magic meeting things he would have to go to? He hoped not. Being around all these other magical people was exhausting.

He heard something get into the water on the other side of the pool. He looked up to see Keith’s head just bobbing in the water as he slowly swam around. He watched Keith for a little while before he slowly swam over to him.

“Hi.”

“Hi. So you wanted to get in with me?” Asked Lance.

Keith nodded. “Yeah… But I didn’t know if you wanted to be alone or not. It’s hard to tell with you sometimes.”

Lance smiled a little and brushed a lock of wet hair off Keith’s cheek and tucked it behind his ear. “Kind of unfair isn’t it? I’m an empath and I can usually tell what you’re feeling while you’re struggling with me.”

“Yep. It kind of sucks sometimes.” Said Keith. “Fuck you.”

He chuckled and kissed him. Keith kissed back and for a moment both men were content. Keith was always gentle with him. It was like he was worried he would hurt him. In all honesty he didn’t think that Keith had ever deliberately or accidentally hurt him. He didn’t expect the demon to start now.

Keith’s hands started to slowly move over his body. Starting at his chest, Keith’s hands moved over every subtle bump and dip in his skin until his hands settle around Lance’s hips. It’s only then when Keith takes pause and pulls back from the kiss with a questioning look on his face.

“Not all the way...” Said Lance quietly. “I still need to be able to walk tomorrow.” While Lance loved Keith and was pretty much down to getting railed when his boyfriend wanted, but he’d pretty much be stuck in bed for the next day or two after. Depending on how hard they went at it. Lance was pretty sure no one would be impressed if they found out he couldn’t make it because his boyfriend fucked him too hard.

“I can do that.” Keith wrapped his hand around Lance’s cock and slowly pumped. His hands were a little rough and he had a few callouses but it felt so good.

Lance rested his head against Keith’s shoulder and panted softly. “K-Keith…” He moaned. He reached between them and gently gripped Keith’s own cock and started to stroke him in time with Keith’s strokes. 

He was thankful that Keith’s anatomy was generally human and seemed to function in the same for the most part. His dick was thick, almost unable to touch his middle finger and thumb together kind of thick. Along the shaft were a series of thick bumps and ridges that only swelled and became more prominent the harder he became. It was so tempting to just give in and let Keith rail him again.

Keith’s thumb brushed over the tip and Lance shuddered. “Fuck!” He hissed into Keith’s ear. He squeezed Keith a little tighter than he did before. It made Keith gasp a little and jerk his hips forward into Lance’s hand. “You like that?”

“Y-yeah.” Stuttered Keith. He moved his hand faster and Lance started to feel that familiar tightness and heat swelling up inside him. 

Lance screwed his eyes shut and moaned loudly as he came. Keith quickly followed him. They stayed still as they slowly came back to their senses. Lance sighed contently and kissed him. “Um… You have any idea how to clean the water in this thing?”

“Not a damn clue.”

“... Well shit. We should probably get out now anyway.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” Keith got out and helped Lance.

Once they had dried off they retired to the nest for the evening. Keith busied himself by trying to make the nest more comfortable, which just consisted of him pulling and moving the blankets and pillows. Lance on the other hand was still looking at the panflits. 

Since Keith didn’t seem too enthusiastic about doing the beauty stuff he wanted to see if there was anything that would cater towards a demon like him. His eyes lit up when he saw one word in big block letters; GYM.

***

Keith was very skeptical of this gym thing, like he was with most things that Lance introduced him to. But this gym thing seemed to be pretty interesting. There were several machines around that people were using to pull and push weights. There was a wall covered in rocks that people were climbing up. There were even some things hanging from the ceiling that those with wings or at least the ability to levitate were using. 

One of the staff made a happy trilling noise as they quickly walked over to the two of them and started nodding, similar to a chicken pecking at the ground. “Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! First time to our gym? First time?”

Keith felt his soul withering slightly inside. He didn’t like people this peppy and upbeat. “Yeah…”

They nodded. “Okay. Let me show you around.” They gestured for them to follow with a wave of their wing and happily walked around. “We have many things! We have lots of things for cardio, lots of weights. Be careful when using weights though. Make sure it’s set to your species. The average weight a Goblin can lift is very different from the average weight a Hydra can lift.”

Lance nodded and lightly nudged Keith’s arm. “What do you think? Might be fun to work off some steam in here while I’m in some boring meeting?”

“I guess…”

Hearing that the staff member’s eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. “Oh yes, yes! Many familiars, partners, and spouses enjoy using our facilities. We can offer you a personal trainer for anywhere between an hour to half an hour per day if you wish. We are all very dedicated to fitness and are more than happy to give you tips, pointers, or explain how some of our machines work if you want to work out alone.”

This seemed okay. Keith could find something to do here for a few hours. He nodded a little and smiled at Lance. “Yeah. This doesn’t look too bad.”

Lance grinned and patted his back. “Awesome. I gotta get going now. You stay out of trouble. Okay?”

Keith rolled his eyes and nudged Lance. “Yep. Now get moving. You’re going to be late and Allura’s gonna glare at you, or worse, Kolivan will glare at you.”

That name made Lance shudder a little. “Right… I’ll be back in a few hours.” He kissed Keith’s cheek and walked out of the room.

The staff member gave Keith a gym towel and left him to his own devices. Now that he was alone, Keith walked around and had a look around at all the things that were there. He was very interested in the ropes and hoops attached to the ceiling. He wanted to get up to them and swing through the air. He still missed flying with Shiro since Shiro lost his wings.

Keith went over to the climbing wall and started the long climb up to the ceiling. Sure he could have just climbed any wall, but he felt it would be frowned upon. When he couldn’t climb up any higher he looked over to the ropes. If he fell from here he would end up badly bruised, but still alive.

He took a leap and grabbed a hold of a rope. He swung a few times and happily jumped to another rope, then another, and another. He eventually got to a hoop. It was large enough for him to sit in and make himself comfortable. He could fall from here and hit the floor. The falling part would be fun, but hitting the ground would suck. He wished he was able to make his wings work back when he had them.

Suddenly a rush of red flashed by him and almost knocked Keith out. He grabbed hold of the hoop as it spun around violently. Just as it slowed down the flash of red went by again and started the spinning again. Keith felt like he was going to be sick.

The red flash had stopped and hovered in front of him, waiting for Keith to stop spinning. When Keith stopped seeing double he was glaring at James. The angel was hovering there with his arms crossed. He looked smug as fuck.

Keith glared at him. “Fuck you.”

James laughed. “What? That’s the best you got? What are you doing up here? Your kind shed your wings centuries ago. What? You still got the urge to fly?”

Keith hissed at him. “Fuck you. I can do what I like. Piss off.”

“You should stay on the ground.” Growled James. “Where you and your contaminated kind belongs.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Go fuck yourself. What’s with your inherited sin bullshit?”

“Oh, and what do you know about sin?”

“Bitch I eat sinners!” Snapped Keith. “That’s in my fucking name! I’m a Sin-Eater!”

“Eating sin is disgusting.” Growled James. “You know what other Powers see when we look at your kind? We see a broken angel. You are nothing.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You’re an aggressive little fuck aren’t you? Why don’t you go and have a massage or something?”

Before Keith could blink he felt James punch him square in the jaw. He hit him with enough force to knock him out of the hoop. He hit the floor with an audible crack as all his bones seemed to break on impact. 

In all honesty, since he was a Sin-Eater, shattering his bones and forcing them to move was so normal for him his muscles easily held everything in place just as well as any cast would. Though with the sudden impact to his head, Keith was a little disoriented, at least for a few seconds. Thankfully his vision wasn’t too badly impared and he was able to quickly roll out of the way as James attempted to land on top of him and crush him. He quickly looked around to see what the staff were doing. They seemed to be quickly ushering people out of the gym.

“They aren’t going to help you.” Said James as he ran his fingers through the feathers on his wings. “Protocol here is to not interfere when fights happen. They only minimise, contain, and clean up.”

“... So in other words you want a fight to the death?” Asked Keith.

“Of course.” Said James calmly. “You’re a demon. I am a Power. My mission is to slay demons. You just happen to be a demon that really pisses me off.” In the blink of an eye James was in front of him. He placed his hand on Keith’s chest and knocked him back into the wall with such force that it left a small crater.

Keith quietly cursed as he peeled himself off the wall and fell to the floor. James was serious. He really wanted to kill him. Even without a weapon this guy was seriously dangerous. Thankfully so was Keith. He rushed James with his fangs and claws bared and ready to rip into his flesh, but the angel was too quick.

He was behind Keith in a second and punched him so hard in the back Keith felt his spine pop out of place. In an instant he lost all feeling from the neck down and he hit the floor. Under normal circumstances he would have been fine. It would take him about a minute or two to realign his back but at the moment he wouldn’t have this luxury. James wouldn't give him the time. In the midst of his his panic he heard someone call out to him.

_KEITH!_

“Lance?” Was he hearing things? He looked around but he couldn’t see him. All he saw was James. 

He stood over him and smirked that stupid smug smile. “And now, you die.” He raised his foot and looked like he was going to stomp his head in. He attempted to bring his foot down but it stopped just inches before it came into contact with him. “What the?” James tried again but the same thing happened.

Suddenly he got pushed back rather violently from Keith and someone new entered the gym. Looking over Keith saw Lance. He had his arm stretched out and looked a mix between scared and pissed. He slowly walked over to the two of them breathing rather heavily. He stood in between them, not letting James go.

“What did I tell you?” Asked Lance in a rather cold and emotionless voice. “I told you not to do that again. I told you to back off. I told you not to do it. I told you not to.” Lance slowly moved his arm and James started to get pushed back. He dug his heels into the ground and was visibly trying to break out of his invisible restraints. “I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you.”

“...” Keith felt his spine pop back into place and he quickly got up. He put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. It was hard to describe, but he could feel something akin to chaotic energy radiating from him. “Lance… I’m okay. Just stop.” When he didn’t move, Keith moved around to see what was going on with him. The whites of Lance’s eyes were slowly turning black. This was not good.

Lance didn’t acknowledge Keith. All his attention was focused on James. “I told you.” He continued to chant. “I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you. I told you.” He suddenly clenched his fist and there was a sickening crack as all six of James’s wings got crushed by an invisible force along with his chest.

The angel cried out in pain as blood shot out of its mouth like a fountain. Lance was going to kill James. If Lance killed him this would cause so much trouble for everyone. “Lance! Snap out of it!” He didn’t know what to do. He panicked and bit Lance’s shoulder. He bit him hard. Hard enough for him to feel the bone crack and his mouth filled with blood.

Lance yelped and snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He dropped James and James fell to the ground in a heap, coughing and spluttering. Keith let Lance go and tried his best to stop the blood flowing. Something he wasn’t used to doing. All he really knew was that he needed to apply pressure from watching a few medical dramas with Pidge.

Thankfully the staff finally came over and quickly came over to cast healing magic and make sure everyone was still okay. Lance had a distant look in his eyes as his sclera bled back to white. 

“Lance?” Keith squeezed his hand. “Are you okay? Talk to me? Please?”

Suddenly Bob was next to them. He hummed a little as he looked at Lance. “Interesting… Looks like the dumb-dumb did a dumb.”

Keith jumped a little in shock. “Don’t sneak up on people like that! … Is he okay?”

Bob shrugged and looked over at James. “You including the angel in this situation?”

“Fuck him. He’s an asshole.”

“Fair enough.” Bob poked Lance’s cheek. “Hmmmmmmmmm, yeah. He’s good. No lasting physical damage, but as usual, the psychological damage is gonna be a little… Let’s all go back to my room and we can talk about it.” He nudged Keith’s leg. “Come along tall, dark and hormonal. Pick up the dumb-dumb and carry him. Poor dummy is a little shell shocked.” 

Keith didn’t appreciate Lance being called dumb, but he wasn’t really sure what to do and he needed to get as far away from James as possible. He helped Lance to his feet and followed Bob out of the room.

They seemed to have gathered a bit of an audience. Keith hadn’t been in the gym for very long and the meeting was definitely still going. Lance must have run out if he somehow sensed he was in danger or about to die. He didn’t know if this was going to be a big deal or not. He really hoped it wasn’t Lance didn’t need anymore shit thrown at him.

As they walked down the hall they passed a tall man with long silver hair and sharp facial features. Keith didn’t like the way he was watching them. There was calculation behind those yellow eyes of his. It unsettled him. Keith could deal with that later.


	8. Meeting talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of random yelling happening in this chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When they got to Bob’s room Keith helped Lance sit down on the couch. He was still a little shell shocked and kind of confused about what happened, and quite frankly so was Keith. He hadn’t seen Lance do something like that before and that didn’t seem like empath magic. Krolia;s eyes never changed when she used her magic.

Bob happily sat on his chair and smiled at them. “So boys. That was quite an interesting show of power. I’d dare to say we might have had another god on our hands if Keith hadn’t have snapped you out of that.”

“Yeah…” Lance touched his shoulder where Keith bit him. The staff had healed him pretty well. He just had a few scabs now. “What do you mean I was almost a god?”

Bob chuckled. Amusement danced in his eyes. “Well if you want me to be technical. You are a god. Marcello, by possessing you and reclaiming his power and the power of the Key, gave you all the power you need to be a god.” He thought for a moment. “Think of it this way, you and Marcello were playing the same game on the same console. Just different save files. Marcello just unlocked a new character.”

“... Like a fighting game?” Asked Keith. The only video games he liked were 1v1 fighters.

“Kind of.” Bob yawned a little and stretched. “Lance is a god by technicality, but really wouldn’t recommend he attempts something like that again until he gets a better handle on his magic. While he is physically and magically strong enough to become one, his mental strength at the moment is lacking. Fix that and then you won’t become a crazy god that all us other gods will have to put down.”

“... I really, really fucking hate my uncle…” Grumbled Lance. “Even when he’s dead he still fucks with my life. Hell he’s even appearing as a fucking sleep paralysis demon and-”

“The what now?!” Asked Keith. He was suddenly very alarmed. Marcello was back but he was a demon? This wasn’t good. Also, what the fuck was a sleep paralysis demon? He only knew of a handful of demons that attacked people in their sleep. They were usually subspecies of sex demons and demons that ate dreams. What was going on? How could he fix this? Could he fix it by punching the demon in the face?

Bob laughed. “Slow down there Keith. It isn’t a real demon. It’s a hallucination. Happens sometimes when you have sleep paralysis. Anyway, we have more important things to talk about rather than mental health. You guys know about me, right?”

“Yeah.” Muttered Lance. “You’re Bob. You’re meant to be a god.”

“Correction, I am a god.” Said Bob. “I’m a god that can see and travers every reality. Before a big decision is made I can see every branching path from it and the results from one choice and one decision. I do my best to make people choose the paths that will cause the least amount of harm and test those that are more irrational and will have to make a series of choices in rapid succession that will determine the fate of their own people, planets, realms, and universes. I talked briefly with Marcello before he set his path in stone. His ending was the same once he said that Samuel Johnson quote to me.”

“And what does this have to do with us?” Asked Lance coldly. “What bullshit has my uncle forced on me this time?”

Bob shrugged and started counting on his fingers. “He technically gave you the ability to unlock ‘God Mode’ when you need to. You’re technically the key that can open up the gates of heaven and hell, and essentially start the apocalypse… And that’s not even starting on the mountains upon mountains of trauma you are going to have to face. Maybe start looking for a therapist?”

Lance glared at Bob. He was starting to radiate that chaotic energy again and Keith instinctively shrunk back from him. “And what does any of this have to do with me?”

“Cause and effect.” Said Bob. “You didn’t have to rush out of the meeting just as it started the way you did. You could have quietly slipped away. But you ran here. Because of that everyone lived, but everyone else saw you. They saw you almost crush a Power with your mind. While everyone might not know you are a god, they do know you have very strong god-like powers.” He chuckled. “Because of that you have both removed and painted a target on your back.”

“What are you talking about?” Asked Keith. “Who is after Lance? I’ll never let them get anywhere close to him!”

Bob rolled his eyes and yawned. “You have guts but you sound cringy. Anyway, a large majority of people that might have had second thoughts about your presence here are not going to mess with you… But you are definitely on the radar of everyone more aligned with the heavenly realm. All the Celestial’s are going to be giving you two the side eye, especially the angels… Also the Iscariot’s are going to hate your hate your guts. They might keep things civil while we’re here, but once the meeting is over then they are going to staight up murder you guys. Consider this a warning.”

Lance chuckled a little. “So angels are going to come after me? Perfect… I’ll probably be fine if I stay on my property. I doubt any of those guys want to get too close to a gate of hell.”

“Well it isn’t just them you have to worry about.” Said Bob. “Here’s the thing; people don’t really know you are technically a god or have the power to open the gates of hell yet. The only ones that know are your friends, Allura and Coran, the Marmora coven, and Lotor.”

“Who’s Lotor?” Asked Keith.

“The son of Zarkon and Honerva, or Haggar. Whatever she wanted to be called at the time.” Said Bob. “Marcello didn’t bother fighting them when they showed they weren’t going to stop him. I think he’s starting a new coven? He might not have a demon as a patron but his knowledge of magic and the objects of power he has makes him extremely dangerous.”

“Yeah… I kind of remember him…” Muttered Lance. “When Marcello was in control I… I sometimes saw what was going on…” This was news to Keith. Any time he had asked Lance about what happened that night Lance stayed tight lipped or changed the conversation. How much did Lance actually see? 

Bob nodded. “Yeah. Look, I’m not going to sugar coat it. Lotor and the Iscariot’s are going to be causing you boys the most trouble in the future. It all depends on how the next few hours go.”

“How so?” Asked Lance.

“It all depends on how everyone reacts.”

***

After the sudden disturbance in the gym everyone went back to the meeting room. It was a lot less chaotic than it had been the previous day. The Iscariot’s were quiet. The Mamora coven was solemn. Allura herself was quiet. She really didn’t know what to think. Sure she knew Lance potentially had the power to do something extreme, but he had no idea he would be so bold as to attack an angel and cross the Iscariot’s.

Ever since the Iscariots started to get their act together around the end of the 7th century they had been nothing but trouble for fae, though in recent centuries they had scaled their act back to only slaying demons and malicious fae. She still didn’t like it. Lance had put a huge target on his back.

When everyone was settled Lotor stood up. “In light of the recent events that have just played out I think it is the best opportunity to illustrate my point. Warlocks are a danger to our entire community. Not just Witches, but all fae, demons and celestials. Warlocks need to give up their isolation and join covens.”

There was an immediate uproar within the meeting. Mainly coming from other Warlocks in attendance. People were angrily shouting at one another, calling everything Lotor was saying a farce and bullshit. He simply waited for them to stop talking.

“Please, I have good reason. A few months ago a rather twisted Warlock entered my coven. The coven started by my mother and father. This Warlock, while they were swiftly defeated, completely destroyed the Diabazaal coven to the point that I and a few survivors of the massacre are struggling to rebuild the family we have lost. That Warlock should never have been able to achieve the power he had on his own. Covens hold their own accountable. We make sure that those within our group never stray too far. If that Warlock was part of a coven their members would have held him back and my parents would still be alive today.” 

Allura would be lying if she said that she didn’t agree with some of what Lotor was saying. She didn’t like or agree with what Marcello had done. Because of him Haggar and Zarkon died horribly, but she didn’t see what that had to do with Lance. He already had his friends and even the Marmora coven checking in on him. Though as she looked around the room his words seemed to have some sway with the people present.

“I know many Warlocks claim to have their own checks and balances-” continued Lotor. “-But how can we be so sure? What’s to stop a Warlock not purifying themselves? If they are with a coven they have others looking out for them to make sure they do not get corrupted. When a Warlock gets corrupted, if we are all lucky, a powerful fae or a coven will take them out. If we are unfortunate we will have to beg for the services of the Iscariots or Celestials for divine intervention.”

Allura frowned and stood up. “This is preposterous. Warlocks were a problem created by coven’s in the first place. Covens were the ones that would take mercy on their fellow kind and grant them leniency instead of killing them off instantly. Furthermore, Warlocks have always been there for us fae when Covens would snub us. Covens would claim they couldn’t spare their members where Warlocks would willingly help us.”

“She’s right.” Said a grouchy looking raccoon thing. “We ask covens for help all the time, but no one would help. We went to a warlock and they helped right away. Getting rid of Warlocks would destroy the fae community.”

This caused another uproar in the meeting room. No one wanted to get rid of Warlocks, but some people were concerned with what Lotor was saying and saw merit in his words.

When they were quiet again he spoke up. “I am not suggesting we get rid of Warlocks. I am saying Warlocks need to have some connection to a pre existing Coven. Simply to make sure that they do not get out of control. I do not want what has befallen on my family, my parents, my family, and my friends to fall on you all… Lance however is a special case.” Hearing that made the crowd grow quiet. “The Key, the demon whose bones were scattered through all the realms were brought together and absorbed into Lance’s body. Lance is now the key to the gates of heaven and hell.”

There was an instant uproar. The conversation was quickly shifting to the Key no longer being scattered. It needed to be scattered. It helped stop anyone opening the gates and allowing free passage between the realms. It would cause chaos and death everywhere. Allura didn’t know if Lotor was truly concerned or if he was building up to something else.

Allura frowned and raised her voice. “I think before we worry about what Lance now being the Key details and worry about how he, a man that was only able to become a warlock for less than a year and is still struggling with the basics of even simple healing magic. How would he be able to get the Key or even know what the Key was? He was only able to find the Key because of what the Diabazaal coven was doing! Why was Haggar collecting the bones of the Key in the first place?”

“Just because that witch was my mother doesn’t mean I knew everything that was going on in the coven.” Said Lotor calmly. “She was extremely secretive. I do not know why she did what she did, but this is clearly a mess that my coven has created. As such I am trying to fix the mistakes they have made. My coven… It was not a good coven.”

“Who cares about that?” Growled a demon. “The Key is now a walking, talking, living thing again. And isn’t that Warlock the one that lives in that house on the gates of hell?”

Kolivan stood up, slamming his hand down on the table. “The Marmora coven has taken Lance under our wing since the start of his journey to become a Warlock. He specializes in empath magic. He cares deeply for his demon and his friends in general. That Power attacking his demon set him off.”

“So you’re saying it’s his fault he got attacked?” Asked Ina. “None of us were there when the fight started. For all we know the demon was the antagonist in this situation rather than our angel.”

“While that is true, I think it is right to say that if your angel hadn’t engaged in trying to exterminate Lance’s demon then Lance wouldn’t have done what he did.” The Iscarito’s weren’t happy about it, but they reluctantly agreed that he was right.

“And where were you when Lance killed my coven?” Asked Lotor. “I’m sorry, but if he really was under your care then he wouldn’t be in the position he is in now. Him just being here as a representative that lives on top of a hell gate was enough, but this on top of everything is just… If the Mamora coven is trying to take responsibility for a Warlock they should take responsibility and punish him.”

“Lance’s actions at the time of your coven’s execution were not his own!” Snapped Allura. “They were the actions of his uncle Marcello! Marcello was an extremely powerful necromancer. Almost all of the fae knew of him. He planned to possess Lance and take over his body for years. The actions committed were that of Marcello’s and not Lance’s. Lance simply has to live with the consequences that were forced upon him.”

There were a few people in the room quietly talking about this. Lotor nodded a little. “I admit I was a little hasty, but I stand by what I said about Warlocks. They need to be phased out for the good of all realms. They become much too powerful on their own.”

It was at that moment that Bob suddenly popped back into his chair, startling several people around him. “What did I miss?” The person next to him gave a quick rundown of what happened. He nodded. “I see, so what are you all going to do about it?”

That caused a whole new wave of yelling and anger between everyone. Allura sighed heavily and ran his fingers through her hair. Things were going nowhere. It was so annoying. Whatever happened she really hoped that Lance wouldn’t get into too much trouble because of this. Even if everyone completely rejected what Lotor had said, he had planted the idea that Warlocks were dangerous and couldn’t be trusted not to get out of control.

***

After talking with Bob, Lance and Keith went back to their room. It didn’t last long though and Lance went down to the front desk to see if he could possibly move up his massage time with Keith. Luckily they could, though Lance could tell Keith didn’t like people touching his back.

Lance thought it felt nice. The tension in his body was slowly melting away and it gave him time to process what had just happened in the gym. He heard Keith crying out in pain, his vision went black for a second and he was there. He was standing in front of Keith and trying to protect him from an angel. 

He felt like he was slipping away. Like he was falling. Just slowly, slowly falling away… Then there was a sharp pain in his shoulder and he was back Keith had bitten him and he was bleeding. It was crazy. Lance didn’t really know what was going on. He had almost crushed James to death. It was scary. It was like he was possessed again.

Being possessed was his biggest fear. He didn’t want that to happen again. Why did it have to happen? He felt like his sense of self was slipping. Every second in that darkness was slowly vanishing. He didn’t want to slip away… 

Lance looked up from the massage bed and over at Keith. He was also on a massage bed, but he was lightly growling and had his hands firmly gripping his horns. He really didn’t like this but he was doing it for him. It was kind of sweet.

“Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you promise me something?”

“Yeah?”

“... When I die can you make sure my body is cremated?”

Keith looked over at him and gave him a confused look. “What?”

“I don’t want to get possessed or like, have anyone using my body for anything when I die… Being possessed is… It’s something I’m really afraid of…”

“Is this because of Marcello or-?”

“I’ve been afraid of it for longer than I’ve known magic was a real thing.” Said Lance. “Just the thought of being unable to control my body while still being kind of lucid or something just… Possession horror movies… They all just… It scares the shit out of me. I just… After what happened with Marcello it just made me feel even more… I don’t want to lose myself again.”

“... You’re not going to lose yourself.” Said Keith quietly. “But yeah, if you really want that I can… I’ll do what I can to make sure you’re not possessed. Okay?”

“Thanks… How badly do you think I screwed things up?”

“I don’t think you screwed anything up.”

“Yeah?” Lance didn’t believe that. He knew he fucked up. He always fucked up somehow. Magic was so fucked up sometimes. “I want to go home…”

“Me too, but this thing is still going on. Won’t you get in trouble for leaving early?”

“Yeah… Well we can at least lock ourselves in our room and wait until we’re allowed to leave.”

“Agreed. This massage thing is weird.”

Lance chuckled a little and smiled at him. “Yeah.”


	9. Stress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this I made Ina Jewish. So if you don't understand some of the things she says she's speaking Yiddish. I think the context makes it pretty self explanatory what she is saying, but feel free to look it up if you feel so inclined to do so. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

For as long as Lance could he stayed in their room and tried not to leave. He just wanted to go home but was unsure how to do this. In the eventing Kolivan, Krolia, Allura, and Coran came over to check on them. Krolia immediately busied herself making sure that Keith was okay while the others were more concerned with Lance.

“Are you okay Lance?” Asked Allura. 

“Everything is alright lad.” Said Coran. “I heard the meeting was a little crazy after what happened at the gym.”

“I’m fine.” Lied Lance. “What happened at the meeting?”

Kolivan frowned. “Lotor asked everyone to reconsider having Warlocks. He’s using the destruction of the Diabazaal coven as reason eliminate warlocks. One would assume that he wouldn’t want that. A lot of older covens kill people trying to leave. They don’t let them become Warlocks.”

Allura nodded in agreement. “He also exposed you as being the new Key. You will need to keep your wits about you. You’re going to draw interest from a lot of different powerful people… I think you should go home now and just avoid everyone.”

“Yes.” Said Kolivan. “Going home would be your safest bet. You’re too exposed here. If you go down to the front desk we can get them to send you away. As things stand… There’s going to be a lot of people trying to get your favour now… Or trying to kill you.”

“Perfect.” Lance sighed heavily. “I’m in a shitty position. Again. Brilliant.” He got up and started packing. “Fuck it I’m just going to stay at home and mail order everything. No more leaving the estate. Fuck it. I’m done.”

Keith frowned and held Lance’s hand. “Calm down… We’ll figure something out. Okay?”

“... Okay.”

While Lance was calming down Allura and Coran helped him pack his stuff. After that the group carefully made their way down to the front desk. They quickly explained the situation and they reluctantly cast a spell to send them both home. Lance watched Keith quickly saying goodbye to Krolia and Kolivan before he was back by his side and holding his hand.

“You ready to go back?” He asked.

“Yeah… Coming here was a mistake.”

***

Hunk and Shiro were in the kitchen. Hunk was trying to teach Shiro the finer points of cooking a roast while Pidge was filming it to see if Shiro’s presence will spontaneously set something on fire. It was all for science of course.

“And then you rub the spices in.” Said Hunk.

Shiro frowned at that. “I still don’t get why you need spices.”

“It adds flavour.”

“It detracts the flavour.” He grumbled. Suddenly the front door opened up and Lance and Keith walked by. Everyone was surprised to see them back so soon. It had only been a day. “Welcome back?” Said Shiro as more of a question than an actual greeting. “DOes time move differently there?” 

“How was it?” Asked Hunk.

Pidge frowned a little. “You guys stay out of trouble?”

Keith looked like he was about to say something, but Lance quickly cut in. “Oh just perfect. It was freaking amazing man. Guess what. I fucked up so badly we’re gonna be getting so many visits from demons and angel fucks who want to kill me because now all the most powerful angels and demons know that I am the Key… Oh, I also happened to fuck with a bunch of demon slayers made up of the Abrahamic religions. So fuck me dead why don’t you?” He then stormed off to his room leaving everyone stunned.

Keith sighed and shook his head. “Look, Things went really bad. To sum up, I almost died, Lance almost lost his mind and came very close to killing an angel, and I’m pretty sure we made ourselves enemies of some human religions. I don’t know.”

“I see…” Said Pidge. “You two accomplished a lot in like a day and a half.”

“Yeah… I’m going to see if he’s okay.” Keith quickly went to Lance.

Shiro frowned a little and looked over at Pidge and Hunk. “Um… What’s an Amrahamic religion?”

“A bunch of Semetic-orientated religious communities that all claim to have come from Judaism.” Said Pidge. “So that’s Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all believe in Abraham and stuff.”

“Who is Abraham?” Asked Shiro. “Why is he so important?”

Pidge shook her head. “Don’t ask me. I was raised as an atheist. All I know is the Jews don’t believe Jesus was the son of God, the Christian’s do, and the people that believe in Islam they believe Mohammad was a prophet but the other’s don’t.”

“... Right.”

She shrugged. “What do you want from me? I’m just as confused as everyone about everything that’s going on.”

Hunk sighed and took off his apron. “I should go and see if Lance is willing to talk.” There was a loud crash and everyone froze. “... What was that?”

“Maybe I should check on them?” Suggested Shiro.

“Yeah. Sounds like a good idea.” Pidge started to sniff the air. “Why do I smell smoke?” They quickly turned around to see the roast, still in the pan, still on the counter top, right next to the oven, on fire. The humans cried out in shock and tried to quickly put it out while Shiro quickly slipped out of the room and headed towards Lance and Keith’s bedroom.

When he got closer he could hear some muffled arguing. He couldn’t tell what it was about, but he could tell Lance sounded frantic while Keith seemed to be trying very hard to calm him down. Cautiously Shiro pushed open the door just a little so he could hear what was going on.

“You don’t get it!” Snapped Lance. “Do you know what has happened? You know how fucked up religious extremists can get? And now I have an entire organization of the crazy fucks trying to kill me? Holy shit!”

“Aren’t you exaggerating this just a little?”

“Keith, do you ever turn on the TV and watch the news? Sure these days it’s a lot of people pretending to be the only true Muslim blowing up the infadels, but fucking hell, hardcore Christians are are just as insane and Jewish… Okay I honestly don’t know any crazy shit those guys have done, but there is probably something!”

“Lance, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Said Keith. “I know jack shit about human religions. You’re practically speaking gibberish to me now.”

“Fuck the Iscariot’s!”

“That we can agree on.”

“...”

“Lance? Are you crying?”

“N-no…”

“Oh Lance…”

When it got quiet Shiro decided it was time to look in. Lance was sitting on the floor with Keith holding onto him tightly. The Warlock was quietly sobbing. He was a wreck. Keith looked up at Shiro with an expression that screamed he didn’t know what to do. He sighed a little and curled around them both. He didn’t really know what had happened, but he knew it really fucked with Lance’s head.

“Is everything okay?” Asked Shiro.

Lance shook his head. “E-everyone wants me dead… I was just kind of there before b-but then I did some shit and I’m apparently a god and the Key, and I like… I fucked up with some crazy religious whack jobs that want to kill all demons. Some fuckers called the Iscariot’s.” 

Shiro nodded as Lance poured out his heart. “That’s… That’s really messed up. Im sorry Lance. Well, Keith is your summoned demon and I’m still your contracted demon. We’ll protect you.”

Hearing that made him smile a little and laugh. He sniffled a little and tried to wipe the tears and snot away from his face. “Thanks… But no. I… I don’t want either of you to protect me.”

Keith frowned. “What? No, Lance we-”

He shook his head. “No. If I get attacked my emotions will bow up and I’ll do something weird and pretty much do something to protect myself. I need you two to protect Hunk and Pidge. They don’t have magic or anything like that. They could be in danger again… It-it’s like the Diabazaal coven all over again. I can’t put them in danger again I can’t! I can’t do that! I can’t! I can’t! I can’t!”

Shiro slowly shifted himself around and gently pushed Lance to the floor and put his paw on top of him. It was how he usually got Keith to calm down when he had a freak out as a kit. The light pressure seemed to work because Lance had stopped ranting and was just breathing heavily.

“It’s okay.” Said Shiro calmly. “Just breathe in, and breathe out. It’s okay. Can you tell me what you see?”

“Huh?”

“Name three things you can see.” Said Shiro. “Name five things.”

“... The ceiling?”

“Good. Keep going.”

“You… Keith… Our nest… The light?”

“Good.” Said Shiro. “What can you feel?”

“Your paw and the carpet?”

“Good.” Shiro slowly moved his paw away. “Feeling a little better now?”

“A little…” Lance sat up but he nervously held himself. “How did you do that?”

“I looked up human ways to deal with deal with anxiety.” Said Shiro.

“O-oh…” He looked down at the ground and nervously picked at the carpet. “I’m sorry… I should be stronger than this… But I’m not…” 

Keith cautiously put his hand on Lance’s leg. “Lance, you are much stronger than you give yourself credit… Maybe we can ask Allura’s wife to help you?”

“Allura has a wife?” Shiro was surprised to hear that.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. She’s running the herb shop while Allura and Coran are at the meeting… Also she’s apparently a princess.”

“Huh… That’s interesting.”

After a little more talking the two demons decided to call Allura’s wife. Keith called her while Shiro went back down to explain what was happening to Pidge and Hunk. They were very concerned both about Lance’s mental health and the possibility of the house getting bombed into oblivion at some point in the future.

About an hour later there was a knock at the door and Shiro answered it. Standing there was a pale woman with long blond hair and bright purple eyes. She smiled nervously at him. “H-hello. I’m Romelle. A man named Keith said I needed to be here?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. You seem a little nervous are you are you okay?”

“Well this Keith person said; Hey, I know you’re an elf. Get your ass over here and help my mate or so help me I will drag you back here. I don’t care what your wife says.”

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “I am so sorry. Keith is really, really, really concerned about Lance… If he threatens you again let me know and I will hit him.” He moved aside and let her in. “So you’re an elf huh?”

Romelle nodded. “Yep. And you are?”

“I’m a Manticore. Keith, the guy you talked to, is a Sin-Eater. Lance is a human Warlock.” He informed her.

Pidge looked out into the hallway. “Hey there.”

“Hello.” Said Romelle with a smile. “Are you Lance?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I’m Pidge. Just one of Lance’s human roommates. If you see a tall guy wearing a yellow headband, that’s Hunk. The other human, non-magic roommate. He’s in the kitchen trying to fix the mess Shiro caused.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Whined Shiro. “It caught in fire by itself!”

Romelle chuckled and shook her head. “Anyway, can you please take me to Lance?”

“Of course.” Said Shiro. He took Romelle up to their room and knocked on the door. “Guys? Romelle is here.” He opened the door. The two had relocated to the nest. Keith gave Romelle a suspicious look and bared his teeth at her when she got to the edge of the nest.

Instead of her backing off she just glared at Keith. “So I’m guessing you’re the asshole that yelled at me over the phone?”

“And if I am?”

Romelle took a small vial filled with a silver powder out of her pocket and held it up. “Pure iron with slivers of silver. Act like a bitch again and I am going to throw it at you. Might not kill you but it will give you a horrible, skin peeling rash. Let me in your nest.”

Keith looked like he was about to hiss at her when Lance quickly cut in. “It’s fine Keith. Calm down. You can come into the nest.”

Both demons were a little surprised he said that. Lance knew how important a demon’s nest was. He must have been really messed up if he would let a stranger in without hesitation. They two demons kept a close eye on Romelle as she climbed into the nest and sat in front of Lance. She smiled softly at him and asked him a series of questions. Some of them arbitrary, and others more invasive. After a few minutes she sat back and frowned. 

“Okay. Good news bad news time.” She said calmly. “Good news, I have a vague idea what’s wrong with you. Bad news, it’s not going to be solved with tea and herbs.”

Keith growled at her. “What do you mean you can’t help him?”

She rolled her eyes and took a card out of her pocket. She wisely handed it to Lance and not the angry looking demon. “Here. This is the number of a therapist. A fae therapist. Let’s face it, a lot of horrible shit happens in this world. Especially when you’re a Warlock and use magic… and you kind of live on a gate to hell…”

Lance nodded and looked at the card. “... They do home visits?”

“They do whatever you’re most comfortable with.” She said. “I did a few visits with him. Either at his office or at home. The doctor does prefer people come in for their first consultations, but he makes exceptions for people with agoraphobia, physical disabilities or any other number of things. He helped me a little with a mild phobia I had a few decades ago.”

Shiro noted that Lance seemed to calm down a little as he looked over the card. “So, they are reliable?”

“Yes… Though to be fair he is a little eccentric at times.” She warned. “So be a little careful. Okay?”

“Okay. Thank you… Are you sure there’s nothing you can do for me?”

She shrugged. “A little more calming tea might help. But in my unprofessional opinion this seems like some kind of PTSD and anxiety thing going on. No amount of tea can fix that.”

“Okay. Thank you again. I’ll call them soon.”

After a little more talking Romelle left. Lance still seemed a little anxious, but he seemed less nervous the longer he stared at the card. Shiro walked around the nest and had a look over Lance’s shoulder to see what the card said.

_Dr H.Slav. Fae Psychologist_

“Are you actually going to go?” Asked Keith.

Lance shrugged. “What’s the worst this Slav guy gonna do to me?”

***

After what happened with the James and the demon, along with what Lotor had proposed, then Lance and Keith slipping away before the meeting was over, it made the Iscariot’s uncomfortable. They were happy when the Key was scattered. It was a good thing, but Lance, Lance couldn’t be the Key now. The last thing the world needed was a magic based apocalypse. Humanity was doing pretty well on their own.

“Oy vey...” Bemoaned Ina. “I can you believe that Kolivan? He’s such a schmuck, and Lotor’s a putz. He just likes to kvetch and make us all feel sorry that his coven’s dead. Fuck him. He must be meshuggeneh if he thinks anyone’s falling for that. Everyone knows he hated them.”

Nadia shook her head. “Ina, I think you’re forgetting the fact that James almost got killed?”

“To be fair Powers are real chutzpah and meshuggeneh too.” 

Ryan sighed as he downed his wine. James was fine. Sure he almost died, but Powers healed extremely quickly. He had hidden in his room until his wings had healed properly and looked nice again. Lance had apparently destroyed a lot of his feathers. James would actually have to eat normally instead of photosynthesizing for a few weeks.

“Okay…” He muttered. “Forget all that for the moment. Our biggest problem right now is that Lance is a Warlock, a Warlock that doesn’t have much in the way of magical experience and is, for all intents and purposes, a god… We’re going to have to inform Iverson about this.”

Nadia cringed a little. “Seriously? He’s either not going to care or go ape shit. I really don’t need to get involved with another holy war.”

Ina shrugged. “He’s gonna find out one way or another. Doesn’t matter how he finds out it’s gonna be one hell of a shande… And James is gonna want to kill that Sin-Eater as soon as he can… But to kill that putz he’d gonna have to kill that other schmuck.”

“I guess…” Muttered Nadia. She sighed loudly and ate a handful of complementary bar nuts.

“You shouldn’t do that.” Said Ryan. “You have any idea how disgusting bar nuts are?”

“If I’m lucky these will kill me and I’ll come back in fifty years.” She grumbled. “Iverson’s gonna make us deal with this."

“Doubtful.” Said Ryan. “There’s an Iscariot agent working in the area where the hell gate is. Iverson will get them to monitor the situation more than they have been after he’s informed of the situation.”

“The putz is still gonna be mad at us for letting James get his tuches handed to him.” Said Ina with an almost amused tone in her voice. “You think he’ll actually punish us for that?”

“I don’t know.” Muttered Ryan. He leaned back in his seat and let out a long, deep breath. “... We’ll finish the meeting, inform Iverson, and hope he isn’t going to blow up and make us do something stupid… Then again it has been a while since we have gone out and slay demons.”

“And it is all around a hell gate…” Said Nadia. “Argh, I guess we’ll have to start sharpening our blades again. Boo.”

Ina patted her back. “It’s okay Nadia. I’ll buy you another drink. Okay?”

“Make it strong. I’m gonna need it.”


	10. The Dr is in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slav is a good doctor, but he has his moments. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

With much reluctance Lance ended up going to see Slav. Shiro and Keith went with him since he was kind of nervous about the whole thing. Lance hadn’t been to one of these things before. Keith was there because he was worried that something bad would happen to him if he went alone. Shiro was just there to make sure that Keith didn’t do something that would get them in trouble.

Things didn’t start off well since the receptionist, a pixie, had informed them that Lance would go in alone while Keith and Shiro would have to wait outside. Keith loudly protested this while Shiro held him back. Keith really hated this idea but Lance apologised to the receptionist before he went in to see this Slav guy.

Slav looked like an eight armed caterpillar person. Lance had no idea what type of fae he was meant to be but at this point Lance didn’t really care. He was getting help, but seeing how frazzled this man was, was kind of making him question coming here.

“Ah! Welcome, welcome!” Said Slav as he gestured to a seat. “Please take a seat. I am just getting some papers in order. I am Dr Slav. Fae psychologist. You are Lance McClain, correct?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. Um, you okay with seeing me? Like you treat fae and I’m a warlock…”

“It’s fine. Do not worry about it… Just be careful when you sit down. There might be some burnt feathers on the seat.”

Lance checked the chair and brushed off a burnt feather. “Um… Do I need to ask why there was a burnt feather?”

Slav seemed to think about it for a moment before he shrugged. “To make a long story short I have a client who has a pet phoenix that is afraid of fire. I am treating the bird for pyrophobia.”

“... Right.”

“Anyway, let’s get to the introductions. I am Slav. I am a skōlex. Well half skōlex and half mymerkes. Hence my odd colouring and extra limbs.” He smiled a little at Lance and settled in his chair. “Now your turn.”

“Um, I’m Lance. Fully human. Recently became a warlock. Summoned some demons, died, got possessed by my uncle, became a dog, became the Key, made enemies with the Iscariot’s… And that all happened within the last eight months.”

“... You have been a very busy boy.” Slav looked through his papers and handed them over to Lance along with a pen. “Please fill out this form. If you have any difficulty just let me know and I can re-read the question for you and phrase it differently.”

Lance nodded and filled out the form. It was a series of questions and statements where he had to tick a box. He had five choices per question; All the time, almost all the time, sometimes, almost never, and never. Most of the questions were pretty standard too. There were questions like; I feel appreciated by my family, and I have more good days than bad days. Then there were really weird ones like; I often wonder how pigeons lose their toes in the city, and consuming blue things makes me question the sudden and rapid decline of ladybugs.

Once he had filled it out Slav took it from him and quickly typed some things onto his computer while scribbling in his notebook. Lance wondered what this was going to tell him? Would it tell him he was crazy or something?

“So… What was all that for?”

“It’s just a general test to get a general baseline for what you might be dealing with.” Said the fae. He frowned a little and tapped his pen on the desk while staring at the computer screen. “For example, if you have anxiety it could be part of a much, much bigger problem where anxiety is just a symptom. But it is a good stepping stone to figuring out what we can do to fix your issues… By the way you have very, very high anxiety.”

“Fun.”

“Not fun. Anxiety is a very serious issue.” Said Slav firmly. “Sure it can start off as a mental issue, but anxiety can eventually cause physical issues; stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, insomnia, all kinds of terrible things… Do you have stomach ulcers?”

“Not that I know of…” Muttered Lance. “What else does that test of yours say besides the anxiety thing?”

Slav looked at his screen again. “Well, anxiety aside you seem to have mild depression… But considering some of the things you talked about when you introduced yourself I think I have a general diagnosis of what is going on, but what do you think is wrong with you?”

Lance shrugged and looked down at the desk. He didn’t really want to say anything, because if he did then he would have to admit that it was real that what he went through actually did happen.

“I… I think I have PTSD…” He said quietly. “I… Sometimes I’ll just be doing something and then my mind will just suddenly switch to that night and I’ll… It’s not like I can escape from what happened and forget it. I live in his house and I have to live with what he did to me every day… I can’t even escape it at night. I have sleep paralysis and he’s there. He’s always there reminding me that he had control of my body. That it was his…”

Slav nodded as he listened to what he had to say. “Does that person ever tell you do do things?”

“He just tells me to give back my body.”

“He’s not telling you to kill yourself?”

“Well isn’t that kind of what he’s doing?”

“True…” He wrote down a few more things. “Okay… Have you ever been on medication before? Say for anxiety, depression… or anti-psychotics?”

“No. Never been on medication for that… Do I need medication?”

Slav shook his head. “Just checking to see if you had used them in the past. I try to get my patients to do talk therapy first before I prescribe medication. Generally by the third or fourth meeting there is a definitive answer as to if medication is required. But if you have a history I do make exceptions in certain circumstances.”

“Right…” Lance was kind of glad Slav wasn’t just going to write him a prescription and send him on his way. Mostly because he was pretty sure whatever he prescribed would be some weird magic thing and not something he could get over the counter. If talking it out could help him then he was happy.

They talked for a bit longer with Salv taking down notes and asking Lance questions every once in a while. It was kind of nice to just pour his heart out. He didn’t go into too much detail, but he did talk about surface level stuff. Soon the half hour was up and Slav walked with Lance out to the front.

“So just have a read over that paper I gave you. It should help with your anxiety.” He said. “Please do call if you need-” Slav’s eyes locked with Shiro’s and he started freaking out. “A-a manticore?! I damn manticore?!” He ran over and grabbed hold of Shiro’s arm. “Quick! Do you still have your wings?”

“W-what?” Shiro was quickly becoming flustered.

“Your wings! Do you have your wings?!”

“N-no?”

Slav looked like someone just told him his dog died. “Oh no… Oh no, no, no, no… This is… Nooooooo…”

The receptionist glanced over the top of her glasses and raised her eyebrow at him. Clearly this wasn’t the first time Slav had gone nuts like this. “Are you okay Dr Slav?”

“This manticore has no wings!” He cried. “There is a 87.333332% chance that this is the universe where the world gets hit by a meteorite that will unleash a dead alien virus that will kill everyone!”

The receptionist’s face was stone cold. “Sir, what colour are your socks?”

“...” Slav quickly checked his socks and sighed in relief. “Blue… This is the universe where that doesn’t happen… Thank goodness… I’m going to make some tea to calm down… That was a close one…”

When he was gone Shiro just had the most confused look on his face. The receptionist shrugged and kept typing away on her computer. “Dr Slav has some quirks. Anyway, Mr McClain, do you want to come in next time or would you prefer home visits?”

“... I’d prefer home visits if that’s okay.”

“Not a problem.” She happily typed up his information and sent him on his way.

It was kind of a surreal experience. Keith just let out a long sigh. “So… What the hell was all that about? Are all therapists like that?”

“I don’t know.” Said Lance. “But I think things are okay? I don’t know.”

“So are you cured?” Asked Keith.

Lance chuckled a little and shook his head. “Keith, this is a long term thing. I can’t just go in and get fixed… It’s gonna take a long, long time… At least he’ll be able to come over now.”

“I guess…” Muttered Keith.

Shiro smiled a little and gently patted Lance’s back. “It’s okay. Want to go to lunch or something? It’s around that time, right?”

Lance shrugged. “Yeah… You guys good with fast food?”

“Does that mean it’ll be hard to catch?” Asked Keith.

“... Just get in the car.” Muttered Lance.

***

While the magical people were away, Pidge was in the middle of moving some spare junk down to the basement with Hunk’s help. Though Hunk did protest a few times about going down there since it was filled with a lot of scary magical junk. Pidge wasn’t scared. She was fascinated by all that junk.

She cleared a spot down in the basement and happily piled her boxes up. It made her grin to think she could actually pile her things up in a basement. It was like she was a proper inventor ro something. Plus it meant her room was now a lot cleaner.

She hummed and stretched arms up above her head. “Thanks for the help Hunk.”

“No problem. Now let’s get out of here.”

“What? Really? Come on man, let’s have a look around.” Said Pidge. Before Hunk could say anything Pidge was looking at a shelf with eyeballs and dried bat wings. “What do you think these are used for?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Let’s go.”

She grinned. “What? Afraid we’re gonna summon our own demon?”

“... Now I am!”

Pidge laughed and happily walked around the basement. There was something cool about it. Maybe it was the fact it was magic and not really meant to be here. It wasn’t meant to exist. Logically it shouldn’t but here it was. Defying all logic and reason it was there. Almost mocking her. Challenging her to make a technological version of it.

She leaned down to look at something on a lower shelf. Pidge put her hand on the wall and as soon as she did the wall lit up. Both her and Hunk jumped back in shock as a door slowly morphed into reality. Inscribed on the door was something written in a language they didn’t know. Pidge quickly took a photo of it.

“What are you doing?” Asked Hunk.

“Seeing if Lance knows what this says.”

**Pidge**   
_What this say?_

**Lance**   
_Where did you find this?_

**Pidge**   
_Answer the question dumb ass._

**Lance**   
_Rude. Okay fine. Give me a second it’s a lot._

“What does it say?” Asked Hunk.

Pidge shrugged. “Lance is still reading it.”

**Lance**   
_Let it never be said we are justly bound. Soul and body placed in the ground. May you never find what is hidden. But if your curiosity proceeds, knock once, knock twice and find the key._

**Pidge**   
_The fuck does that mean?_

**Lance**   
_Not a clue. Shiro said it’s High Infernal. So demon stuff. Where did you find it?_

**Pidge**   
_The basement._

**Lance**   
_Yay! Fantastic! I am so happy! More magic bullshit in my house! :D_

**Pidge**   
_Talk to you when you’re less salty you pringle._

Pidge relayed what Lance had texted her to Hunk. Almost immediately Hunk turned around and headed to the door. “Nope. Time to go. Not going through any demon doors today. Send Shiro or Keith in there. I’m out.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Come on Hunk. It’s not like the door is gonna be unlocked. If anything it’ll need a key.” She gave the door a hard shove for emphasis and immediately fell through it when it opened with no effort. She swore in shock as she fell down several steps.

“PIDGE!” Hunk quickly ran after her and helped her up. “Are you okay? Anything sprained? Broken?”

Pidge groaned as she slowly moved her limbs. “... Yeah. Hunk? Where the fuck are we?”

The room they had found themselves in was unreasonably vast considering Pidge only fell down three steps. Magic was like that. Crazy room and weird dimensions. It looked like they were in some cave. In the middle of the room was some kind of tower. It was so tall they couldn’t see the top, but carved into the side seemed to be a mural dedicated to agony. Surrounding the tower seemed to be a lake of cooled magma. On the walls were more High Infernal writing. 

Before Pidge could get up and explore the area Hunk grabbed her and promptly legged it out of the room. “Nope! Not dealing with this! We’ve dealt with a lot the past few months but I’m not putting up with this!”

“Oh come on! Really?”

“Yep. We’re waiting for the others to come back.”

About twenty minutes later the others came back and went to investigate the room. Keith and Shiro were very interested in the writing on the walls while Lance sat on the steps and ate a burrito. He didn’t look as interested as the demons did.

“My house is full of bullshit.” Said Lance. “Though we already established this?”

“This is different bullshit.” Said Keith. He crouched down and read something on the wall. After a moment he looked up at Shiro. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah…” He looked over at the humans and gestured to the ring of magma and the tower. You see that? That’s a hell gate.”

“Wait, that’s actually the gate to hell?” Asked Pidge. “Well shit…”

Shiro nodded. “Yep. That tower is the lock. In other words…”

“Lance shouldn’t be here.” Said Keith. “Lance is the key, that’s the lock. Only Lance can unlock this and open the gate of hell.”

Lance just nodded as he continued to eat his burrito. “Pretty sure I’d fall in the magma and die first, but go off I guess. Well I think it’s official to say that this room is now off limits for everyone forever.”

“Agreed.” Said Hunk. “Now can we please get out of here and go upstairs to eat cupcakes or something?”

Pidge sighed and got up. “Okay fine. Lance can tell us all about how his first therapy session went.”

“Oh my god. Where do I start?” Asked Lance.


	11. Spiraling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst, angst, angst, angst, angst. That is all. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Although Lance did say he didn’t want anyone to go into that room in the basement anymore, Keith was kind of curious. If Lance opened the door it was game over for humanity and everything else, but at the same time it was his way back home.

When he was a little kit he did remember seeing the lock from the otherside in Hell. When he, Shiro, and his dar were traveling, his dar happened to point it out as they passed. They didn’t get too close to it. The tower was guarded by dragons and golems. All kinds of demons. It wasn’t that they weren’t there, it was more of a standoff. Each one wanted to be the first to rip through into the next realm.

Keith had always been curious about it, so he was more than pleased to investigate the tower in the basement without fear of getting murdered. It was a little difficult to jump over the magma put and he only just singed his heels as he jumped the pit.

He grinned and happily walked around the tower, running his hand over the mural. There were dozens upon dozens of demons that he recognised. Everything from succubi, to dragons. They all looked like they were trying to claw their way up towards the top. Keith couldn’t see the top from where he was standing, so he started the long climb to the top.

It felt like it took forever, but it was probably closer to twenty minutes. When he got to the top he saw nothing. The whole place was just flat. There was nothing there. It was just flat with nothing there. Not even in a slightly raised platform. It was mildly disappointing. There was a chance that something might happen if Lance was there, but he didn’t want to bring Lance here for that very reason. Lance could do something and accidentally open the gates of hell. No one wanted that.

With a reluctant sigh Keith climbed back down the tower and left the room. He found Lance on a chair in the library. He was reading a book in a language he didn’t know. “Lance?”

The man didn’t even bother looking up at him. “Hey Keith. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just wondering what you are doing.”

“Reading.”

“I know that. What about?” He sat next to Lance and listened to him turn the pages without getting an answer. He didn’t know how long he stayed quiet for but he eventually cleared his throat. “Lance?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you reading about?”

“Night demons.” Said Lance. “Just looking at it. That’s all…”

“Okay…”

“Yeah… You want to read something?”

Keith sighed and frowned. “You know I can’t read anything but infernal and basic English.”

“What? So you want another lesson?” Snapped Lance in a harsh tone. “I can’t keep teaching you all the time. I have my own stuff to deal with!”

Keith was taken aback. “What? I didn’t ask you to teach me anything else. Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Snapped Lance. He groaned in annoyance and threw his book down. “Fuck it. I can’t deal with you right now. I’m going for a walk. Don’t fucking follow me.”

He stormed out of the room leaving Keith confused. He didn’t know what he did to make Lance hate him so much. All he did was sit next to him and ask him one question. Was he really that much of a bother to him? He didn’t understand human relationships at all. Who was he meant to talk to about this? Pidge? Shiro? Hunk? Out of the three of them Hunk and Shiro were seeing people, but Shiro was Shiro. He’d talk to Hunk when he eventually came back home.

Still, he didn’t know what he had done to upset him. Maybe humans liked to be alone when they read and Keith disrupted him? He didn’t think so. He had seen Lance reading around people before. So maybe it was him?

If so, why did he make Lance so upset? He didn’t understand. Keith sighed and picked up the book Lance threw on the ground. It was mostly in a language he couldn’t read, but there were a few words in infernal he could read. There were also pictures. He could look at the pictures. Lots of weird looking demons.

He didn’t know what he was doing. He couldn’t read it and see what Lance was looking up. He was probably looking up sleep paralysis demon stuff. Now Keith felt even worse. He didn’t know how to help Lance. He wanted to but he couldn’t. Maybe if he wasn’t some weird half demon thing he’d be more useful and be able to help him.

“... If only.” He muttered. It was difficult for Keith to describe but he felt more out of place than ever before. He wasn’t a full demon because of Krolia being beast-blooded, which meant she wasn’t fully human. She had demon blood in her which just meant she had demon ancestry somewhere in her side of the family. But back to the point, Keith had always felt a little weird about being half human and half demon, but now it was pretty much confirmed that he was pretty much part angel too.

That actually messed with his head a lot. Sure some types of demons were originally angels. At least that’s what was whispered about. Though he had never heard of Sin-Eaters being part of that. It was so strange to him and it really freaked him out a little.

If he ate someone innocent and sinless he could power up and become an angel. It was fucking weird. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like that he could suddenly sprout wings and bone plates. It made Keith feel sick to his stomach with questions. Wasn’t he meant to use healing magic if he was part angel? Like, good healing magic? He wanted to help Keith but he couldn’t.

Keith was useless.

***

The meeting was over and Allura was heading home. She and Coran were standing in the lobby as they waited to check out. As they patiently waited she happened to see Lotor. He was surprisingly alone. It wasn’t like it was mandatory that Lotor needed someone else from his coven with him, but it was strange that someone wouldn’t be with them.

Coran lightly nudged her arm. “Allura? Are you okay?”

“Yes… Give me a moment, please.” She walked over to Lotor, glaring at him. “Lotor.”

Lotor looked at her and nodded slightly in her direction. “Princess Allura.”

“... What is your plan?” She asked, deciding being straight forward would be the best option. “You want to get rid of warlocks? Why?”

He seemed surprised by her straight forwardness. He chuckled a little and smiled. “A woman that knows what she wants. I like it.”

“Lotor…”

“No need to be like that. My reasons are the reasons I stated in the meeting.” Said Lotor. “I don’t want any more Warlocks to get as powerful as Marcello. He was an insane, wreckless mess. He slaughtered everyone that went against him. How long until a man like that was no longer satisfied with the world of magic? How long until he decided to flex his power and decide to destroy the human realm?”

“... You still threw Lance under the bus.” She snapped. “You made Lance a target. How could you do that?”

“I needed to make a point.” Said Lotor calmly. “Marcello was dangerous. He did so many horrible things and he just… He basically forced power onto Lance that he should not have. He needs proper guidance. He’s going to buckle under the pressure and eventually snap. What would happen to him then? What is going to happen to all of us? He has no guidance. No strong support system.”

“He has the Marmora coven and his friends.”

“Really?” Asked Lotor. “I am sorry Allura, but I can’t believe that. I might not have cared for my parents or for my coven as much as one might assumed I should have, but I genuinely don’t think anyone like Marcello should ever exist again. We can’t let it happen… If that happens I… I am worried for the future. It honestly feels like the end is near.” He looked at Allura with pleading eyes. “I am so sorry… But you are good friends with him, correct? Please keep an eye on him. He needs guidance and I do doubt the Marmora coven since they didn’t stop the slaughter of my coven before...”

Allura was a little uneasy when he said that, but she reluctantly nodded. “Yes… I am going to keep an eye on Lance…”

“Thank you.”

Coran called Allura over and they two of them checked out. They then quickly returned to the herb shop where Allura was almost immediately enveloped in a hug by her wife. It felt like forever since they had seen each other. Though in reality it had only been two years. Something that didn’t seem like anything to a fae. 

Allura grinned and happily kissed Romelle. “How have you been my dear?”

“The shop wasn’t too difficult?” Asked Coran.

Romelle laughed a little and sighed. “Things were okay. I ended up talking to Lance. He’s seeing Slav.”

“... Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Asked Allura. “With Lance’s condition a man like him could… It probably wasn’t a good idea to set him up to see a man so neurotic.”

Romelle shrugged. “I’m sorry. But it was the best I could do for him. Tea wasn’t going to fix him.”

Coran sighed at that and rubbed his forehead. “Oh dear… Should we maybe go and visit him and see how he is going?”

Romelle shrugged. “Probably. He might like a visit. Will you be going tomorrow?”

“More than likely.” Said Allura. She smiled and happily pulled Romelle along up the stairs to their living quarters. “Well, enough talk. Time to go through all the free samples I swiped from the resort bathroom.”

“Oh hell yes!”

***

With the meeting over, the Iscariot’s went back to their headquarters to inform Iverson of what went down. He was both intrigued and enraged at what went on. A fully formed Key was not something they needed. This was horrific. A disaster. Iverson was so pissed off that everyone felt that they were all going to get stabbed and told to walk it off. Even James looked a little worried, and he was an angel.

Iverson took a few deep breaths from behind his desk and sighed. “Okay… So let me get this straight… You found out he was a Key, and you didn’t kill him?”

“With all due respect…” Said Nadia quietly. “We were all pretty shocked that Lance almost turned James into a tube of angel toothpaste. He only stopped because his demon bit him and made him stop.”

Ina nodded in agreement. “Yeah… And to be fair Lance seems like a good guy. He’s just some dumb Warlock that didn’t know what was happening. He’s not smart enough to actually be considered a danger.”

Hearing that seemed to piss Iverson off. He directed his gaze to Ryan. Demanding that he say his piece too. Ryan was reluctant to say his piece, but he did anyway. “Lance is just a kid. His demon seems to be some kind of emotional support for him. If it wasn’t for his demon then Lance would have murdered James.”

James scoffed. “He took me by surprise. I didn’t know Lance would go ballistic if I went and tried to slay his demon. We are meant to slay demons.”

“Exactly.” Said Iverson. “You three should know this by now. You could learn a thing or to from that angel… However, I will take what you said into consideration. I’ll get in touch with the Iscariot in the area.” The group made a collective, disgruntled noise. “What? Got a problem with him?”

Ina shrugged. “It’s not that we have a problem per say… It’s just that… Isn’t he kind of on the out with us? Ever since he came back this time he’s just… He’s distanced himself from us. It’s kind of annoying. I mean, the only reason that putz comes back is because his friend always comes back. He isn’t even here because his friend hasn’t remembered yet.”

“He’s still an Iscariot.” Said Iverson. “He is bound to the organization as we all are. He will pay his dues over and over again as long as his memory persists. We cannot leave once we are in.”

Nadia sighed. “Well yeah, but isn’t it kind of terrible? He doesn’t want to be a part of this anymore. Shouldn’t we just let him go?”

“No.” Said Ryan calmly. “He’s been around for centuries. He knows about things that no one should know. He has access to the things that could blow a huge hole in the earth. The only reason we didn’t capture him and stick him in the Vatican’s vault was because of the shit he pulled in 1477...”

Nadia cringed a little. “Oh yeah, is he still hunting down the manticore that defiled his corpse?”

“Probably.” Said Ina. “That schmuck is completely meshuggeneh when it comes to that… I mean he schlepped all around the world at the smallest clue that a manticore was around.”

“Think he’ll ever find them?” Asked Nadia.

“Who knows?”

Iverson growled and slammed his hand on the desk. “Enough! You four get out there and get back to work. If he can’t keep an eye on the Key I’ll get you lot to do it. Understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Said the group before they quickly left the room.

***

Curtis sighed heavily as he got off the phone. Iverson was an asshole. He didn’t like that just because his memory was back he had to be under the thumb of the Iscariot’s. It wasn’t fair. He had things he needed to do. He didn’t give a fuck that Lance was the Key. He’d only take a real interest in him if Lance did something that affected Adam.

Curtis took a moment to steady himself before he walked back into the apartment. He had gone to the corner store to grab some ice cream and drinks since Adam ate and drank the last of it the other night. 

“I’m back!” He called.

On the couch were Adam and Shiro. Shiro had his arm around his friends as they sat on the couch to watch TV. Curtis didn’t know that Shiro was coming over. It looked like he just dropped by. If Curtis was honest he really was okay with Shiro being there. Really he was, but still… There was that nagging feeling. 

He didn’t like how Shiro was so close to Adam. He wanted to push Shiro away from Adam, but he knew that was stupid. It was obsessive behaviour that Adam would never understand unless he remembered. He would never let Adam remember. He wanted Adam to be happy. He couldn’t be happy if he remembered.

Adam looked over at Curtis and waved. “Hi. Shiro came over.”

“I noticed.” Said Curtis as he walked over to the kitchen. “Hi Shiro.”

“Hey Curtis. Need any help?” He asked.

His question annoyed Curtis a lot and made him internally cringe. But he smiled anyway. “Nah, I’m good. You two want a drink?”

“Yes!” Called Adam.

“No thanks!” Called Shiro.

Curtis handed Adam a beer and sat on the chair while the lovers had the couch. He watched the two of them get all cuddly together and he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Adam was his friend. His best friend. But at the same time he knew he had feelings for him. He wasn’t sure if it was romantic or if it was just a strong feeling of friendship. He and Adam had been through so much together. He did love Adam more than anyone else in the world. Adam was his everything.

Did this make him a bad person? He hoped not. Curtis didn’t think he was a bad person. He was just overprotective. Extremely overprotective. He wanted Adam to be happy and he would do anything and everything for him.

“Curtis?”

“Huh?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I said, Shiro and I are going to go out for dinner tonight. So you just need to look after yourself. Alright?”

Curtis smiled cheerfully at them. “You mean I don’t have to suffer your bad cooking? Nice.”

Shiro chuckled and Adam huffed. “Shut up. I’m not that bad.”

“Trust me, I’m worse.” Said Shiro. “I walk into the kitchen and things just catch on fire no matter what I do. I can set water on fire.”

“Neat magic trick.” Said Adam.

The two men drifted into conversation which left Curtis alone with his thoughts. He was completely obsessed with his promise to Adam. He would do anything and everything he could to keep his promise. Adam would be happy. He would make sure of it.

***

It was all falling apart. Lance didn’t understand why he was so angry at Keith. He didn’t do anything. He shouldn’t have snapped at him. Keith was just spending time with him. Something that he usually enjoyed the demon doing. Keith was patient when he needed to be and would stay still for hours while Lance did whatever he needed to do.

He shouldn’t have been snappy with him. Keith had been nothing but kind to him. He needed to do something to make him feel better. But he didn’t really know what Keith would like that didn’t involve catching a child molester and letting Keith eat them alive. Sure he felt fucked up at the moment, but he wasn’t fucked up to be an accessory to murder.

Maybe he could order a really, really nice steak for him? That might make him feel a little better. Keith deserved the best, and right now, Lance wasn’t the best. He was a mentally fucked up mess. Maybe he should ask Slav to give him a prescription for something? He had no idea.

He took out his phone and started to look up some place he could order some fancy stakes. He hadn’t even made a dent in the money Marcello had made. He could afford it. If he wanted to, he could spend half of the money on cocaine and hookers and still have enough money to live comfortably.

That was a sad thought. He felt like absolute shit. Everyone deserved better than whatever the hell he was.


	12. Meat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen... So I may or may not be craving red meat... Started a new diet that cuts out a lot of the good stuff... Also, not gonna lie. Kind of craving haggis. Don't know why. I crave the flesh of animals. I blame the diet. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

A few days after Lance had yelled at Keith a package arrived for Keith. At least that’s what Shiro said. It was some cooler box thing and when Keith opened it he found that it was filled with meat. From the smell it seemed to be beef. Shiro read off what kind of beef was in the container on the lid.

“Kobe beef, Wagyu beef, tenderloin, filet mignon, porterhouse, and T-bone.”

Keith picked up a steak just marbled with fat. “... I can’t really tell the difference between cuts of meat unless it’s attached to bone.” He dropped the steak into his mouth and Hunk gasped in horror from kitchen doorway.

“What are you doing?!”

Keith tilted his head in confusion. “Eating?”

Hunk made a distressed noise as he took the lid off of Shiro and read over the label. “... Kobe beef?! Lance bought you Kobe steak?!”

“Is that expensive?” Asked Shiro.

“Yeah! Only 3,000 cattle a year make the cut annually to be called authentic Kobe beef!” Said Hunk. “It’s like $200 per pound!” He looked at the label again. “Oh my god it’s been stamped. This is authentic Japanese A5 meat.”

“And that’s good?” Asked Keith. 

“It’s the best quality meat in the world!” Exclaimed Hunk. “Lance spent half a million on A5 meat for you! What the hell?”

Keith awkwardly pushed the container towards Hunk. “You can cook some of this if you like…”

“What? No I… I’m just surprised.” Said Hunk. “That’s just… Wow…”

Keith pouted and pushed the box closer to Hunk. “Take some before I make you take some.”

“... I’ll get a container.” 

As he searched through the cupboard for a container Keith ate a tenderloin and tossed a T-bone at Shiro. The manticore happily ate it. “So Lance got you an expensive gift huh? Can’t be a courting gift. Did something happen?”

“... He kind of yelled at me the other day for asking him what he was reading.” Said Keith. “I don’t really know why he was so mad at me. He just was. He hasn’t really spoken to me much since he yelled at me… Is that normal?”

“I don’t think so…” Said Shiro. “Maybe this is because of what he’s going through?”

“Maybe… I just wish he wouldn’t yell at me because of it…”

“Where is Lance anyway?” Asked Hunk.

“That Slav guy is here.” Said Keith. “They are having their session up in the office. Hope it doesn’t end as weirdly as the last one did.”

***

Lance had spent the last twenty minutes taking to Slav about this, that, and the other while the fae listened intently He had just talked on and on and on about this and that. By the time he was done he felt a little better, but when he saw Slav scribbling away.

“I think I have a proper diagnosis for you.” Said Slav with confidence. “You have PTSD.”

“... I knew that.”

Slav huffed a little and looked through his notes. “Yes, well, you have pretty much all the hallmarks of a person suffering from PTSD. The only thing you aren’t doing is hallucinating.”

“I see…” Lance frowned and picked at his shirt. “So I’m fucked?”

“Not at all. Many people develop PTSD for a variety of reasons. Granted the majority of reasons is because of very traumatic and horrific reasons, but still. Lance you were possessed by your uncle and died in a rather brutal way.” Said Slav. “We can work through this together but like all things it will take time. Like all good things… I would like to concentrate on things that will improve your mood… Considering you are an empath and technically have the powers of a god and could potentially destroy the universe when your powers get out of control...” Suddenly his eyes went wide with horror. “WHAT DID YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST? TOAST OR CEREAL?!”

Lance jumped a little. “I had bran muffin because Hunk made some.”

“Oh, okay. Very good.” Slav immediately relaxed and happily wrote down a few notes. “I was worried for a second that this might be the universe where there was a 97% chance that your lover upset you and you blew a crater the size of Russia right here causing massive tsunamis, death and destruction across the globe.”

“... Alright then.” Lance did not understand how he could just suddenly do that, but he didn’t feel like he should take any chances. “So, what do I need to do to not freak out and destroy things?”

Slav took out a few more sheets of paper and handed them over to Lance. “Let us talk about hats.”

“Hats?” 

Slav nodded again. “Yes. Hats. From what you have told me you are a people pleaser and take on may hats depending on the situation. Now, when you are with your friends you wear the blue hat. Funny, sociable, the jokester. That is the hat you usually wear. But when things start to go bad you end up wearing the black hat and the red hat at the same time; assertive, aggressive, logical, and animalistic all at the same time. You need to try wearing the yellow hat and the green hat when faced with problems. It will help you when it comes to facing problems.”

Lance was skeptical but read through the paper anyway. “I see… I’ll keep this in mind.”

“Good… We still have time is there anything else you wish to talk about? It can be anything you wish. Books, movies, TV shows. Whatever you please.”

“... Sometimes when I disconnect from everything around me I panic because it reminds me of possession.” Said Lance quietly. “When I disconnect I have no filter and just lash out at everyone. It’s like I’m losing myself again… I’m scared I’ll eventually develop some kind of dissociative identity disorder…”

Slav nodded a little at his words. “In this universe at the moment there is only a 12.457% chance that you will develop full blown DID and even if you did there is only a 31.777% chance that your DID would be violent and destroy the world.”

“How reassuring.”

“I find that people find more comfort with hard figures than strictly hypotheticals.”

“Okay.”

Slav hummed a little and tapped their fingers against the arm of the chair he was sitting in. “I have a task for you this week A small one. Do you think you can do it for me?”

“Maybe… What is it?”

“Go for a walk.” Said Slav. “Twenty minutes every day minimum just around your property. Just as long as you are outside it doesn’t matter. You could even just sit outside.”

Lance nodded. “I can do that. Thanks Slav.” 

The fae nodded and packed up his things. “Not a problem. Now I must leave. There is a 56% chance that if I do not leave now that I will get stuck in traffic and have to push back my next appointment.”

Lance nodded and lead Slav out to his car. As he drove away, Lance stood outside. He sighed and closed his eyes just letting the wind lightly blow through his hair. He didn’t feel better after Slav’s visit. He just felt drained. He didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing anymore. On one hand being emotionally drained was bad. A sign of depression or something. On the other hand it was good since it meant his emotions wouldn’t get out of control and he’d hurt someone. He still kind of felt like shit.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned his head to see Keith. He looked a little nervous, but smiled at him anyway. “Um, thanks for the meat… You didn’t have to do that.”

Lance smiled a little at his boyfriend. “I wanted to. I really fucked up the other day… I’m sorry I blew up at you for no reason… Next time I see Slav I’ll ask him what pills I can take to try and speed things up.”

Keith shrugged. “You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. Just do you. Okay?”

“... Okay.” He leaned a little into Keith and sighed. “You don’t have to put up with me being an asshole towards you, you know? You can just walk off and not put up with it.”

“I know. But I want to make sure you’re okay. Are you okay?”

“As okay as I’m going to get for now… But you liked the meat?”

“Yeah. Hunk lost his mind when he found out it was real Kobe beef.”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah… I didn’t really know what to get you to make up for being an asshole. It was either get you some meat, an actual cow, or catfish some random peadophile and get them to come over so you can eat them.”

Keith smiled softly at Lance. “Really? You were going to do that for me? That’s sweet.”

“Yeah… Still couldn’t get past the whole getting killing my own species thing.”

“It’s fine Lance. I get it.” He kissed Lance’s cheek and smiled at him. “Want to come inside now? Hunk is cooking some of the beef. He’s really excited about it.”

Lance laughed a little and walked inside with him. “Yeah, I bet he would be. Nice of you to share your gift.”

Keith shrugged. “We aren’t starving and it’s food. Food it food to share with people… You’re meant to share food with your pack.”

Hearing that made Lance grin. “You’re starting to see everyone as part of your pack?”

Keith blushed a little and nodded. “Yeah. Hunk’s always been nice to me, even if he’s been a little cautious about me being a demon… And Pidge is cool. She’s never given a fuck about me being a demon, and she can kick my ass in Tekken.”

“That’s good. Glad you’re expanding your pack.”

“Thanks”

They walked to the kitchen only to see Shiro sitting out in the hallway. He didn’t look too happy and nodded a little at them when he saw them. “Hunk has banned me from the kitchen when he’s cooking.”

“Is this because things keep catching fire when you’re in there?” Asked Keith.

“Yep. It’s rude.”

Lance chuckled. “Really?”

“Yep. Still rude.” 

“Aw, I’ll see what I can do.” Lance walked into the kitchen where Hunk was busy cooking. “Hey Hunk.”

Hunk glanced over at Lance and grinned. “Hey there Lance. How was your session with your doc?”

“It was fine. So, Shiro’s not allowed in here?”

“Not a chance.” Hunk hummed to himself and continued to cook. “Things catch fire when he comes in here and I don’t want everything to burn.”

“Fair enough… You gonna leave some for Pidge?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna cook some for her when she gets back from interning. I think she’s just going over her brother’s programming.”

“Cool.” Lance grabbed a juice out of the fridge. “I’ll leave you to it.” He walked out and shrugged. “Sorry Shiro. Hunk says you’re not allowed in the kitchen anymore when he’s cooking.”

“That’s bullshit.” Muttered Shiro. “I don’t have to take this. I’m going to the greenhouse.” Shiro got up and walked to the backdoor.

Lance looked over at Keith and shrugged. Keith also shrugged and the two of them went to the lounge room to watch TV while Hunk cooked. Lance put it onto some random TV show while Keith sat next to him. After a few minutes of sitting together Keith was leaning against his arm. A minute after that he was laying across his legs.

It was kind of cute and Lance couldn’t help but smile. He lightly ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. He enjoyed the pleased sounds that Keith made as he did so. Every once in a while Lance’s fingers would brush across a bump on his scalp where the demon’s horns would naturally poke through when they were fully out. Keith would shudder when he touched those parts. It was cute. He was cute.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Lance was starting to feel detached again. Like he knew he should feel happy, but he didn’t really feel happy. He was just kind of there. Smiling and humming as his boyfriend quietly purred on his lap. It felt strange. Not that he didn’t like it. He was used to Keith doing this.

“So did you like the meat?” Lance asked.

“Yeah.” Said Keith. “But if you want to get me more meat can you get me organs too? I like livers and kidneys. Brains are nice too, and I like lungs… Stomachs are kind of good too. Soft, squishy, and kind of chewy.”

Lance chuckled and started to braid his hair. “Yeah? You really like that stuff? That stuff is still kind of weird to me. Not what I would eat if I had a choice.”

Keith shrugged. “It has a lot of flavour. Plus I kind of eat everything in front of me when I’m hungry. You can’t be picky when you’re a demon. If it smells like food then it is food.”

“Fair enough. I think that’s how a lot of traditional stuff got made… My great, great, great grandfather was Scottish and one of the traditional foods there is a thing called haggis.” 

“Haggis?”

“Yeah. It’s minced lamb liver, heart, lungs, minced meat and oatmeal boiled in a sheep’s stomach.” Said Lance. “Kind of gross sounding, but it’s apparently really nice. Never had it, but I bet you could find it in a specialty butchers shop somewhere that sells it.”

Keith hummed a little as he thought about this. “Do you want to try it?”

“I’m not sure. I think it sounds pretty gross, but if it’s made by someone who knows what they are doing then it probably tastes really good.”

“This is why I prefer raw food.” Said Keith. “Saves time and you don’t have to worry about all that seasoning bullshit. That shit’s annoying.”

“Bacteria.” Said Lance. “Parasites. Viruses. All those fun things.”

Keith frowned and looked up at Lance. “You can get parasites from eating raw meat?”

“... You didn’t know that?”

“I didn’t.” Keith had a troubled look on his face as he thought about this. Lance had no idea what was going through his boyfriend’s head, but he let him go. He happily continue to braid Keith’s hair. He had about seven small ones going through Keith’s mullet when Keith spoke up again. “How long until you think Shiro tells Adam the truth? I think he’s holding back.”

Lance shrugged. “Probably. It’s kind of hard to tell someone they are a demon. Hell, Shay only told Hunk that she was a Troll because we ran into her and her brother and found out her secret… Also there’s the whole thing about Adam being the reincarnation of a version of Adam that died back in 1477. Some humans don’t take the whole reincarnation thing very well.”

“... Humans are dumb.”

“I’m a human.”

“You’re a Warlock.” Corrected Keith. “Very different… Also what the hell are you doing to my hair?”

“Braiding it to make you pretty.”

Keith pouted and swatted Lance’s hands away. “Stop it.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Mean.”

“Ass.”

“Stupid Warlock.”

“Dumb demon.”

Hunk poked his head into the lounge room. “I finished cooking the Kobe beef. It is perfect. Ready to try perfection on a plate? … Did I interrupt something?”

“Nah.” Said Lance as he got up and stretched. “Let’s see what’s so special about this crazy expensive beef.”

“... I still say meat tastes better raw.” Grumbled Keith.

Hunk stared at Keith with a blank expression. “Dude, you eat whole roast chickens raw. You don’t get a saw in what is good meat.”

“Whatever man. I want to see what this meat tastes like when it’s cooked.” Said Keith as he attempted to undo the braids from his hair. It didn’t go well and Keith have up after he undid two.

Lance laughed and sat at the table while Hunk presented the two of them with beautiful sliced Kobe beef. Keith ate a few slices and frowned. That made Hunk nervous. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s some of the better cooked meat I’ve eaten, but I still prefer raw meat.” Said Keith. “It’s still cooked really well, but you know, I stick to raw food.”

“Ah, well that’s food. Sorry. I just get a little anxious about food.” Said Hunk. “You know, since I’m studying to be a chef and all.” He then turned his attention to Lance. “So, what do you think?”

Lance ate some and slowly chewed it. It was perfectly seared on both sides and seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper. It was pink in the middle. Medium rare. It should have tasted amazing to him. It should have been perfect. Hunk’s cooking was always amazing… But not today. It was bland. Like it was extremely well done. Cooked all the way through like cardboard. Was there something wrong with his taste buds? Everyone else seemed to think it was good. It it didn’t taste kind of bloody Keith wouldn’t have even swallowed it.

“Lance?”

He looked up at Hunk and grinned. “Tastes amazing man. If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d order this stuff more often.”


	13. Be prepared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the next chapter. Hope you all are ready for this one. It's gonna be some fun buildup for the next few chapters. Also look up jagdkommando knives. Apparently these bad boys are banned under the Geneva convention. Deadly bad boys. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Everything was starting to look dull to Lance. All washed out and boring. It made him feel like shit, and he was pretty sure everyone else felt like shit too, and that was because of his shitty attitude. Sure he did try to smile and laugh with them, but it was hard.

He tried walking around outside like Slav told him to, but it just felt weird to be out. When he went for walks he would usually go down to check the letter box. By the time he walked down and back he had been outside for about twenty minutes. His driveway was pretty long after all.

Today he happened to be there when one of the women in the neighbourhood was dropping some flyer off in his mailbox. She looked like a total Karen, and Lance really didn’t want to deal with her. But he was nothing if not nice.

He smiled politely at her. “Morning.”

“Morning.” She said as she looked him over. She glanced down at her flyers and then back at him. “Hey, so how are you today? My name’s Karen. I live a little down the street. The house with the new model testa out the front. ”

Lance was shocked that her name actually was Karen. “Huh, okay. I’m Lance.”

She smiled at him and handed over a flyer. “Well, maybe you could give this to your parents. It’s to invite them to a Doterra party. It’s gonna be fun. Lots of food and drinks while we talk about the benefits of essential oils. I’m sure your mother would love to come to it.”

Lance was instantly annoyed. Firstly, he did not look that young. Secondly, this was his house. Thirdly, he hated pyramid schemes. “No.”

“No?” She seemed genuinely confused. “Well just take the flyer anyway and ask your parents about-”

“My parents don’t live here.” Snapped Lance. “I live here. This is my house. And I do not appreciate you putting your pyramid schemes into my mailbox!”

She instantly became defensive. “It’s not a pyramid scheme! I wouldn’t expect you to understand the value of being your own boss!”

“Go away and go peddle your poison somewhere else! Essential oils can’t cure any of the shit you morons claim it will! Vaccinate. Your. Crotch. Goblins. You. Stupid. Bitch. Alos, it doesn’t cure cancer. Fuck off and leave me alone.”

Karen looked like she was going to throw a fit.”YOU CAN’T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!”

“Yet I just did!” Snapped Lance. “Get the fuck away from my house and go choke on a dick!” 

“I’m calling the police!” She yelled.

“Go ahead bitch. See if I fucking care.”

They had a stare off for a few seconds before she stomped off. As she marched away Lance flicked his wrist and undid the shoelaces on the extra expensive, designer brand shoes and yanked them back. Karen tripped and fell. She cried out in shock and Lance just walked back up to the house. He hated that there were mlm scams in his neighbourhood. Then again it was kind of a given since his house was literally on the gates of hell. Hell seemed to attract some of the worst scum.

He went inside and stuck the mlm bullshit on the fridge as a warning to everyone else in the house. Did demons even know about pyramid schemes? Multi-level marketing? He wouldn’t be surprised if one of them got tricked if they didn’t know what an mlm was. Then again mlm’s did seem like they were born from the pits of hell, or whatever circle of hell greed came from.

“What are you doing?” Asked Shiro.

“Posting a warning about mlm’s on the fridge.” Said Lance. “Some stupid person’s peddeling that poison around and I don’t want anyone to buy into that crap. What about you?”

“I was going to do some rock gardening in the greenhouse. Want to come with me?”

“... Sure.”

Lance followed Shiro out to the greenhouse. After a few weeks of careful planning and deciding what Shiro felt would work best, they had finally turned the greenhouse into a rock garden. Shay was kind enough to help provide a sunning stone big enough for a manticore, stepping stones, and some decorative rocks. She also went with them to get the perfect sand too.

Shiro had made the most of it and liked to rake the sand into a nice pattern before laying down on his sunning stone and lounging the days away. Well, lounging and using text to speech to text Adam during the day.

Lance watched as Shiro carefully walked on the stepping stones, avoiding the nicely raked sand before happily laying on his sunning rock. Lance followed him and sat next to him, leaning his back against him. He could hear the pleased rumbling in Shiro’s chest when he did.

It felt kind of nice. He sighed and leaned against Shiro’s robotic arm. Pidge still hadn’t managed to figure out how it worked. It was mystery of machinery and magic. He wished he could help Shiro somehow. Somehow magically regrow his arms or magically regrow his wings.

Shiro didn’t really speak much about them taking his wings, nor had he really expressed an interest to fly again, but Lance was sure by the way Shiro would look up at birds or planes that he missed being in the sky. 

In between Lance’s own issues he had looked up a few possible methods to get Shiro to fly again, but most of it was more like levitation and flying spells. Not many spells out there that could give him wings or regrow them. He wanted to give Shiro his wings again. He wanted him to fly. There was just so much that he couldn’t do even though he was meant to be so powerful. He just didn’t understand this. He didn’t understand why he was like this. He was so stupid.

“Breathe.” Said Shiro calmly.

“Huh?”

“Just breathe.” Repeated Shiro. “You’re stressing again. I brought you here to calm down a little… and to talk if you want to. Out of all of us I think I’m possibly one of the people you can relate to the most in the PTSD department.”

“Yeah… And why aren’t you going to therapy?” Asked Lance. “Because you are that much stronger than me or something?”

The manticore chuckled and shook his head. “Lance, I was born in hell. I’m a living embodiment of rage. I’m not as susceptible to certain kinds of mental trauma than other living things… I think it’s mainly so my species doesn’t accidentally go ahead and murder everyone in our packs.”

“Right, I keep forgetting you’re like really violent.” Muttered Lance. “You’re normally so chill.”

Shiro smiled. “Well to be fair most demons are pretty chill… Anyway, I’m kind of worried about you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you’re kind of… You’re angrier than before.”

“Well sorry for having emotions.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Said Shiro calmly. “Your feelings are valid and important, but you need to learn how to channel your feelings now.”

“And how am I meant to make myself feel good in a non destructive way?” Asked Lance. “Like the fuck? Everything sucks. All colour is just draining away and I just… I don’t even know anymore! What did you do?”

“Sit in a greenhouse and relax?”

“... Right.”

Shiro shrugged. “I’m sorry. I don’t really know what things humans can do to relax. I just thought you might like it in here since it’s warm and kind of relaxing.”

Lance felt bad. Shiro was just doing his best. He sighed and ran his hand along Shiro’s side. “I’m sorry… It was a really nice idea and I appreciate it. Really, I do. I just… It’s hard sometimes… I just get angry at people and I push it down. Really deep down… I’m afraid if I really show how upset and unhappy I am something bad will happen. I might hurt you guys. I might hurt Keith… Hell, I might fuck up and actually open the gate to hell eventually… It’s shit.”

Shiro nodded and stretched out on the rock. “I get that. When I was younger and it was just me and Keith, right after Akira died, I didn’t know how to take care of a kit on my own… Keith was so upset and lashed out so much and I always got so angry at him… I can’t count the times I almost deliberately killed Keith when he was a kit.”

Now Lance wasn’t expecting to hear that. “You… You almost killed Keith?”

“Yep. I’m much stronger than him.” Said Shiro. “I pinned him down many times. If I ever wanted to I could have applied just a little bit of pressure and kill him… I did think about it a lot since I used to be really pissed off at everything.”

“Why didn’t you do it?”

Shiro shrugged. “Keith was acting out because he was hurt and he was being a kit. Hurting Keith wouldn’t have changed my situation at all. I had to learn to just let go of all the things that I should be in control of but just wasn’t.”

“... Speaking of things you should be in control of bit just aren’t, are you ever going to tellAdam the truth?”

Shiro pouted a little and shifted a little on the rock. “I just… I need a little more time. Things are nice the way they are now, and I don’t want to ruin it. Like, what if he freaks out?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try…” He thought for a moment before he smiled. “How about you invite Adam over tonight? We still have some Wagyu steaks that Hunk saved. Heck, if you ask him, he'll probably cook for you guys. Hunk’s a huge softy when it comes to romance stuff.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. A nice candle lit dinner. You two can talk have a good time and then you can ease him into him knowing the truth… And who knows? Maybe he isn’t a reincarnation at all? Could all just be a coincidence. Some people look like people that are long dead. Humans can only look like so many different humans. There are bound to be overlaps sometime.” 

“I guess…” Shiro was quiet for a moment as he thought of it. “... Yes. Okay. I’ll tell him. I’ll invite him over for dinner tomorrow and I’ll tell him.”

Lance grinned and patted Shiro’s back. “Awesome. As long as you ease Adam into it I’m sure he’ll accept this big lion, scorpion side of you.”

Shiro laughed and smiled. “Yeah. Thanks Lance. I’ll text Adam in a bit.”

***

As soon as Adam received his text from Shiro his eyes lit up. Shiro wanted to have dinner with him. He was going to have dinner at his place. This was a big step. At least he thought so. He hadn’t really been over to Shiro’s place since they started dating. The only times he really had it had been to drop Shiro off back at the house. Hell, the mansion.

He still couldn’t believe Shiro lived in that kind of place. Hell, even if he was technically a worker there he did seem to have a lot of down time, which was nice. They could pretty much spend as much time together as they wanted. Shiro was one in a million.

“What are you looking at?” Asked Curtis.

The two of them were off campus having lunch when Shiro’s text came through. He smiled at his friend and showed him the text. “Shiro’s invited me over to his place tomorrow.”

Curtis looked at the message and raised an eyebrow. “Wow… that’s the rich art of town.”

“No shit. I told you Shiro was a butler.”

“Well yeah, but you don’t have to be super, super rich to have a butler if you want one. He does a lot of housekeeping too right?”

“Yeah.” Adam smiled as he texted Shiro back. “... Do you think I should bring him some wine? A bottle of red, or white? Maybe more of a dessert wine? I don’t know…”

“A bottle of red sounds good.” Said Curtis. He thought for a moment as he poked his food with his fork. “Are you planning to stay over? You think it’s going to be the night that the two of you finally?”

Adam blushed a little and nervously laughed. “Maybe. I’m not sure… Hopefully? Even if I do spend the night there’s still a strong chance Shiro will probably be a gentleman and send me off to a guest bedroom.”

“Probably.” Curtis put down his fork and sighed, suddenly becoming serious. “Adam… Take care of yourself tomorrow, okay? I don’t want to be that kind of guy, but with your relationship track record…”

Adam shook his head and sighed. “No. I am fine. Really. Thank you for your concern but Shiro is different. Shiro isn’t like the other guys I have been with. I know he will treat me right. Shiro is… I think he’s the one.”

Curtis looked shocked. “Are you… Are you serious? You really think that Shiro is… You guys have only been seeing each other for about four months? Not even a year?”

“I know, but it seems like much longer.” Admitted Adam. Though their time together had been short, Adam felt like he’d known Shiro for much, much longer. There was just this connection that he felt that wasn’t there when he was with anyone else. It didn’t feel like they were moving too fast to him, but they could be moving too fast. He wasn’t sure. Maybe Shiro thought it was too fast? What if he thought Adam was too clingy? He hoped not. “Do you think I’m coming on too strong?”

Curtis shook his head. “What? No. Since when have you ever come on too strong? You once got dumped for being too laid back, remember?”

“Ergh, don’t remind me.” Grumbled Adam. He finished off his drink and sighed. “Well, I should get back to work. I might not have a class, but I have some papers to grade. You going to be able to get to your workplace on time?”

Curtis nodded. “Yep. I’m working with some charity in conjunction with some Catholic church. I need to speak with one of the Fathers working there to approve the designs I’ve made.”

Adam cringed. “Yowch. I would say watch out for Priests but you’re not a five year old boy.”

“Not all priests are kid diddlers.”

“But enough of them are for it to be a stereotype.” Said Adam. “I’ll pick up dinner on the way home. You good with pizza? I want pizza.”

“We really need to eat better.”

“Yep, but what can you do? See you later.” 

“Later Adam. Don’t get hit by a car on the way back.”

***

When Adam was gone Curtis quickly finished his food and left the cafe. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all. As soon as he saw the address that Adam was going to he knew that something was definitely up. That address was the address where one of the three gates of hell was located. The other two being one guarded in Jerusalem by several rabies and the other being held down by water pressure in the Mariana trench.

Shiro had to have known something was up. Was Shiro even human? Maybe that’s why he felt a little weird about him. Nevertheless, Adam was going to a dangerous place. A very dangerous place. There was no way Curtis was going to let something happen to him in that place. If the stars aligned then nothing bad would happen, but he knew that life was unfair.

He made his way to the oldest Catholic Church in the area, Saint Sebastian’s. In all honesty he could have gone to a mosque or a synagogue but this one was the closest to where he currently lived, so he usually went there.

There were a few people milling around. Mostly patrons and parish priests. They smiled and nodded at him. The older ones showing begrudging respect towards him. They older generation were well aware of what kind of man Curtis was and knew his visits to their doors without express invitation from the archbishop usually meant something bad was going to happen.

He walked straight in and headed to the confessionals. He walked into the all too familiar booth and sat on the unbelievably uncomfortable seat. He questioned why these seats sucked so much when they made so much money. It was ridiculous.

He sat in the small, dark, quiet box for a few minutes before he heard someone on the other side walked into the equally small cubicle and made themselves comfortable in their equally uncomfortable chair. The pastor, or whoever it was, coughed a few times before them removed the panel separating the booths and revealing the intricate pattern that was meant to give them both some privacy.

Curtis sighed a little. He knew how this song and dance went. “Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last confession.” He said in an almost tired tone. Now that the formalities were out of the way it was time to get to the real reason he was here. “I am but a child of man. I walk hand in hand with Jude.”

“... Is Jude the only one you walk with?” They asked. They seemed hesitant to ask the question. Like they didn’t know if this was really happening. To be fair it had been a little while since Curtis had come here for this.

“Michael is to my right.”

“Do you walk with God my child?”

“I walk the path no man do walk. ”

“Who are you?”

“The necessary evil.”

“Why are you necessary?”

“To purge the world of evil worse than man.”

“And why are you God’s chosen few?”

“Because no one else will.”

The man on the other side of the screen was quiet for a moment. "The archbishop is here today. Did you wish to speak with him?”

“Yes please. I need his blessing to pick up arms again.”

“As you wish. Follow me my child.” The pastor put the cover back over the screen and the two of them went out. The pastor led Curtis to a back office and knocked on the door. They were called in and Curtis was left alone to enter.

The archbishop looked a little surprised to see Curtis but smiled at him anyway. “Ah, Curtis. It has been a long time since you have come to see me. Last time was two months ago? I’m sorry I wasn’t available. I’m sure someone else was able to help you?”

“I was able to get by… Until now.” Said Curtis. “I was able to retrieve the things I needed from the mosque and the synagogue. All I need now is my weapons. I am asking for you to let me take them back.”

The archbishop nodded a little as he said that, though he did look skeptical. “Your weapons? Can I ask why?”

“I am doing some recon on the hellgate. I have reason to believe something suspicious is going on and I want to be prepared if something happens. I am not taking chances.”

Hearing he was going to the hellgate made the archbishop audibly gasp. “Is something going to happen?”

“I don’t know. I can give you a full report on it a few days after I have finished looking into it. I doubt my report will need to be seen by Cardinals, but I will be giving it to Iverson before sending it off. If he requests it, I will let him handle it. If so he’s probably going to skip the middleman and talk to the Pope and the other leaders. So don’t feel put off it you don’t get a reply from me.”

“O-of course…”

Curtis watched the archbishop walk over to an antique looking cupboard on the far side of the room. He rummaged around inside it for a bit before he took out a rather flat looking case decorated in dozens of golden symbols. He put it on the desk, flicked open the locks, and pushed it over towards Curtis.

The inside of the box was lined with purple velvet and had a few small golden hooks keeping everything in place. Inside were six caltrops and a bag to carry them in, a jagdkommando and a bollock dagger, and a stick that looked like the handle of a spear.

The archbishop waved his hand over the box while clutching a rosary. “My the Lord have mercy on your soul as you take upon your holy quest to punish the demon, the heretic, and the false god. May he watch over you and show you the mercy that you will not show our enemies.”

At the end of his blessing all the weapons glowed slightly, but only for a moment. Curtis picked up the stick and quickly spun it around in his hand like a baton. In a flash it grew and extended transforming into a battle axe. He spun it again and became a halberd, then a mace, and a flail. He cycled through each weapon again before he was satisfied and put it back in the box.

“The conversion rod is a very handy too.” Said the archbishop. “It’s a shame that very few can use it.”

Curtis shrugged and picked up the case. “It is what it is. Have a good day.”

“You too.”

Curtis left the church and headed back to his apartment. He needed to prepare for tomorrow. Shiro was way too suspicious and although he trusted Adam he couldn’t trust Shiro just yet. A man with the same name as the manticore Adam had told him about all those years ago living on top of a hellgate? It was too suspicious.


	14. Intruder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would say that this is just a normal and completely fluffy thing that isn't going to end badly, but you all know me by now. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Shiro seemed really nervous about his date with Adam. Though he did have every reason to be. He was going to tell Adam he was a manticore. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted Adam to be happy and content before he told him the truth. He’d been fretting over every detail with Hunk and Pidge, though Hunk did have to chase Shiro out of the kitchen at least five times.

“You’re going to set everyone on fire.” Said Hunk. “Out of my kitchen.”

“But do you have everything prepared?” Asked Shiro. “You’re not going to suddenly change it or anything?”

Hunk held Shiro’s face in his hands and squished his cheeks together. “Shiro. I got this. Go and talk to Lance about what clothes you are going to wear tonight.”

Shiro huffed a little and walked to Lance’s room. As he passed Pidge’s room he happened to look in to see Pidge doing something with the TV in her room while Keith was making a temporary nest on her bed. They were going to camp out in her room for the night to give him and Adam some privacy. Which was nice.

He walked into Lance’s room and saw the Warlock sitting in his nest reading a book. “Hey.”

Lance looked up at him and put his book away. “Hey. So you ready for me to turn you from a shabby lino into a stunning Manticore?”

Shiro rolled his eyes and shifted into his human form. Lance immediately threw a pair of underwear at him and before he started to dig through his wardrobe. He pulled out a pair of dark pants and a dark purple button up shirt. He put on the clothes and Lance adjusted the shirt. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and went between buttoning up and unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt. He seemed to decide that having the top two buttons undone was the right look.

“Perfect… Now your hair.” Lance grabbed a comb and combed it while Shiro sat still. “You nervous?”

“Very… I mean, this is Adam.” Said Shiro. “Adam is… He means everything to me.”

“Are you going to get rid of the skull in your room after this?” Asked Lance.

Shiro frowned slightly when Lance asked that. The skull, Adam’s skull from a previous life was something he had been carrying around for since Adam died centuries ago. Over the past few months it had started to decay and crack, but Shiro just couldn’t find it in himself to fix it, but he didn’t know what to do with it now. Maybe he could bury it in his greenhouse? 

“I’ll bury it somewhere.” Said Shiro calmly. “I just… I want to find a good place to do it. Can I do it on the estate somewhere?”

“Of course. Go ahead.” Lance ran his fingers through Shiro’s tuft of white hair. “Perfect. You look good. Here are some shoes.”

Shiro put on the shoes and had a look at himself in front of the mirror. He had to admit he did look pretty good. Adam would definitely think he was hot. He always complimented him on his looks. Shiro knew he usually looked like trash when he walked around normally. His mane usually looked really messed up in general.

“Thanks Lance… Do I look good?”

“Yep. Adam would be a fool to say no to you.”

Shiro smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Well if he doesn’t I’m not going to blame him. I really hope this all goes well…”

“It will.” Said Lance. “If Keith and I can somehow make it work you can do it too. I believe in you.”

Hearing that made Shiro laugh a little. “If you say so Lance. So… I guess I just have to wait now? He should be here in about an hour…”

Lance nodded. “Yep. If you need us, we’ll all be in Pidge’s room. You just need to be confident, wine and dine him, and tell him the truth. Okay?”

Shiro nervously bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Okay… I can do this… I can do it…”

***

Shiro was nervously pacing around the kitchen while Hunk was setting up the fancy silverware. “It’ll be fine Shiro. He’ll be here any second. Okay?”

“O-okay… Is the food ready?”

“Just have to plate it and serve it.” Said the young man with a smile. The doorbell rang and Shiro jumped while Hunk ushered him to the front door. “Go and bring him in.”

Shiro went to the front door and gave himself a few seconds to calm himself before he hoped the door to Adam. Adam was standing there in a slightly nicer suit than he usually wore. He was also carrying a bottle or red wine. 

“Well, don’t you look good tonight.” Said Adam.

“I could say the same to you.” 

Adam chuckled and offered Shiro the bottle of wine. “I um, I wasn’t sure if I should bring something, but I thought this would be nice. It’s Cabernet Sauvignon. It goes really well with beef and other red meats. So, I thought it was a safe bet.”

Shiro smiled warmly and took the bottle from Adam and let him in. “What a coincidence. We’re having steak for dinner.”

“Oh really? How fancy.” Said Adam as he followed Shiro into the dining room. He paused for a moment when he saw the simple, yet fancy set up. “Really fancy.”

“Is this too much?” Asked Shiro. “I wasn’t too sure what to do and everyone kind of went overboard with the planning…”

Adam nodded and took a seat. “I see, so where is everyone else anyway? Your brother lives here with you along with Lance, correct?”

“Pidge and Hunk live here too.” Informed Shiro. “But for tonight they are hiding up in Pidge’s room to play video games all night.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah.” Shiro sat across from him and poured the wine into glasses. “So um… Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

Shiro nodded and went to get up to tell Hunk, but apparently Hunk was on the ball with this. He walked into the dining room and placed their food in front of them. “Here you go.” He said. “Kobe beef with a rocket side salad, asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Enjoy.” Before he left he quickly whispered into Shiro’s ear. “The desserts are in the fridge. It’s tiramassue. That kind of brown cake that smells like coffee.”

“Right. Thanks.”

Hunk smiled and clapped his hands. “Alright. You guys enjoy your meal.”

Once he left the room Adam picked up his wine glass and happily raised it. “A toast?”

“To what?”

Adam shugged. “Good food with good company?”

“Good food with good company.” 

They clinked their glasses together and happily enjoyed their meal. They made small talk, which was mostly Adam venting about what he had to put up with that day at work. Shiro adored how passionate Adam got about his work. He was gorgeous when he talked. Hell, everything was gorgeous about Adam. Shiro offered his own opinion a few times when he felt he needed to. Mainly to carry on the conversation. 

When they were finished with their main, Shiro brought out their dessert. Adam absolutely melted when he took his first bite. “Oh wow… Did Hunk make this?”

“Yeah. He did.” Shiro thought it tasted much too sweet and way too much like coffee, but humans had different taste buds compared to him. He could endure this strange flavour for a night for Adam. “He’s a good cook. We all really appreciate his cooking. I can’t cook to save my life… Unless you’re okay with everything catching fire.”

“Barbeque is nice.”

Shiro chuckled. “Yeah. It is.”

They finished eating and moved to the lounge room. They took the wine with them and happily started to drain the bottle. It was nice. Shiro didn’t drink much alcohol, but he did like how it felt. It made him feel kind of light headed and his anxiety did seem to fade away a little when he drank.

They started kissing each other. Adam’s inhibitions seemed to be lowered too as he practically crawled onto Shiro’s lap. It felt nice having him there. Shiro put his hands on the other man’s hips to stop him from moving. It felt nice, but they needed to stop. Just for a minute.

“A-Adam… Can we slow down for a second?”

Adam paused. “Huh? You want to stop.”

“Just for a second. I need to tell you something important.”

“Oh?” Adam moved off of Shiro’s lap. He looked a little worried, and that hurt a lot. Shiro didn’t want to worry him, but it was now or never.

“I… I need to tell you something important.” Said Shiro. “I um… I’ve kind of been keeping this secret from you… Now please keep an open mind. I don’t want you freaking out on me because of this… I mean I’m still me and everything I just… Um…”

Adam had a confused look on his face as he slowly looked Shiro over.“... Are you transgender?”

“What?”

“Because it’s okay if you are.” Said Adam quickly. “Like if you are it actually makes sense why we haven’t slept together or like since you haven’t made a move on me since you know, I’m gay and I like dicks over… Well we can work around it. I’m not… I’m just more comfortable with… But I’m not against it.”

Shiro quickly waved his hands around. “No! No! No! I’m not transgender! Was born with a dick and everything… Why did you think the thing I had to tell you was that I was trangender?”

Adam shrugged. “Kind of just assumed that was it?”

“... Alright. Fair enough I guess? But that wasn’t what I had to tell you… You see…” Shiro nervously started picking at the threads on his pants. “This is… This is really kind of big for me.”

Adam put his hand on Shiro’s and gently squeezed. “It’s okay Shiro. Just take your time. There isn’t anything you can say that will make me upset with you. Tell me when you are ready.”

Shiro smiled a little and stood up. He paced around a little trying to psych himself up. “Okay… Okay… I am… Okay… This is going to sound weird but please keep an open mind… I am… Okay, I think I should just show you…” Shiro took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He let himself transform.

He opened his eyes and nervously looked at Adam. To say he looked shocked was an understatement. He stared at Shiro with wide eyes as the colour started to drain from his face. After a few seconds of staring at him Shiro nervously moved from paw to paw.

“A-Adam? Say something?”

“I-I… you…” Adam’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted.

Shiro immediately went over to him and tried to wake him up. “Adam! Ah shit… The fuck am I going to do now?” As Shiro quickly looked around as he tried to figure out what he needed to do, he felt something was wrong. Very wrong.

He managed to jump back in time as something crashed through the window. A man wearing a dark hood was standing between him and Adam. The man spun a stick in his hand and it turned into halberd. He pointed the sharp end at Shiro and took a defensive stance.

Shiro stood there in shock. He hadn’t expected this day to end like this. He cautiously raised his tail and shot several barbs at the intruder. The intruder swung their weapon with such speed that it became little more than a blur. Much to Shiro’s shock the man was able to deflect every single one of his barbs. This was not good. He slowly shuffled back and the man followed.

The man chuckled darkly as they started to speak, their voice slightly distorted by the covering across their mouth. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave from for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord… But with him not here the Iscariot’s will have to deal out his divine punishment to the heathen, the demon, and the false god. So sayeth the lord above. Kill them all, let God sort them out.”

So this guy was apparently an Iscariot and wanted to kill him? While this was bad, it was also good. They were after demons, like him, so Adam wasn’t going to be harmed by this monster. Which was a very, very good thing. He could just concentrate on saving his own skin.

“... Alright.” Muttered Shiro. “Come and get me.” He quickly took off down the hallway while yelling out. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! HELP! ISCARIOT!” He really hoped that Lance or Keith would hear him and get their asses out here to help get rid of this guy.

A rush of wind shot past his head and the intruder quickly swung their halberd at him as it turned into a battle axe. Shiro only just dodged getting good arm cleaved off by using the wall to jump over him. He continued to run as fast as he could while trying to find a place to escape and hide. Very difficult for him to do with the intruder right on his tail. Quite literally. He felt the battle axe strike against the tip of his tail, cutting off the ends of his quills. Which was really messed up because nothing should have been able to do that.

He ran into the ballroom and quietly cursed. Somehow the house always seemed to bring everything back here. Maybe it was because it was the most spacious room? He had no idea. The house was strange.

The man ran back in behind him and jumped at him, attempting to strike Shiro in the face with the blade. Shiro dodged it just in time, but when it struck the ground it let off a slight electric charge. Shiro was just hit with the very edge of the electric field. He let out a cry of pain and surprise as his arm instantly went numb.

The doors to the ballroom burst open as Lance and Keith ran in. “SHIRO!” Yelled Keith as he charged at the man. His fangs were bared and his claws were out.

This didn’t seem to phase the intruder as he swung his battle axe at Keith, it turned into a flail. The heavy, sharp, spiked end made contact with Keith’s face and swatted him across the room like an insect. His cheek was ripped open and bloody pretty badly. His teeth were visible. Keith was out cold.

The room was suddenly enveloped in darkness. It was like a fog but pure black. Shiro quickly looked for the source and found it with Lance. He looked like he was starting to panic as his sclera started to turn black and the smoke was just billowing out of his ring.

The Iscariot seemed surprised but pulled something out of their pocket and dashed to Lance. With an open palm they struck Lance in the forehead, sticking something to their face. “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons have gone into him. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Lance stumbled backwards and shook his head. The fog was gone and Lance’s eyes were back to normal. He was completely frozen in fear. Whatever this Iscariot did seemed to suppress Lance’s powers. 

He laughed nervously at him. “Um… I don’t suppose I could convince you to put that weapon down and talk for a minute? Maybe?”

The Iscariot raised their flail, it quickly turned into a war hammer .Lance cried out and held up his arms in an attempt to protect himself. Before he could swing it down, Shiro flicked his tail at him, sending several barbs at the Iscariot.

The Iscariot didn’t seem phased since his barbs didn’t seem to be able to pierce the cloak he was wearing. Which should have been impossible. His barbs could pierce pretty much everything. It wasn’t possible. But at least their attention was drawn back to Shiro.

They slammed their war hammer down. It sent a huge shockwave towards him. Shiro went flying through the air. If he still had his wings Shiro would have adjusted himself so he’d land softly on his feet. Unfortunately since they didn’t and they couldn’t. They did however see the Iscariot throw a handful and something that looked metallic and sharp on the ground, right where Shiro was going to land.

Shiro flinched and braced himself as he landed on three of the spiked objects. He let out a roar of pain. Two of them had punctured his chest and one in his flank. He was so close to losing it. He had to quickly way up the pros and cons of losing control and just going after this person at all costs.

He glanced over to Keith and Lance. Lance seemed to be trying to heal Keith, but didn’t seem to be able to use magic anymore. He was freaking out and this Iscariot was a demon killer. He’d go after Keith if he died. Maybe even Lance? This wasn’t good.

He took a few deep breaths, letting his emotions start to wash over him and take control. He didn’t have to work himself into a full rage. He glared at the Iscariot and bared his fangs. The Iscariot took a fighting stance as they morphed their war hammer into a halberd. 

Shiro swiped at them with his robotic arm. The Iscariot was able to block it with the halberd. Shiro Managed to quickly maneuver his tail and took out the Iscariot, knocking him over onto his back. He managed to knock the halberd out of his hands and across the room.

The Iscariot quickly jumped back and pushed themselves back off the floor. They took out their daggers and twirled them around in his hands. Shiro charged for them, roaring at the top of his lungs. 

The Iscariot ducked under Shiro and dragged his dagger along the underside of Shiro’s body from his chest to his hip. When he made it to the other side the Iscariot quickly moved around and drove one of their daggers deep into Shiro’s tail. He completely lost feeling in it and it fell limply to the ground.

He tried to swipe at them again, but they were surprisingly stupidly strong and clocked Shiro hard in the jaw sending him reeling. Onto the floor. Shiro attempted to try and get back up, but the man put his hand in front of Shiro’s face. “Stupet.” A blinding light hit him in the eyes, completely dazing him.

***

Lance was freaking the fuck out. Firstly, there was an Iscariot in the house. Secondly, Keith had a concussion and was missing a lot of the side of his face. Thirdly, Shiro was about to die. Finally, he couldn’t use magic anymore. He didn’t understand what was happening. What was going on?

He gently shook Keith. “C-come Keith. You need to get up. I can’t help Shiro right now. Please.”

Maybe he should have gotten Pidge and Hunk to follow them instead of going to make sure that Adam was alright? He had no idea. What could they even do? They needed to get him bandages to stop the bleeding or something.

“Lance!” Pidge and Hunk ran over to them. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Crazy insane bullshit.” Said Lance. “What about Adam? Is he okay?”

Hunk shrugged. “A little shaken but he’s okay. He should still be lying down on the couch. Can we get a quick rundown?”

Lance pointed over to Shiro and the man. “Crazy Iscariot is trying to kill Shiro for some reason. He’s somehow nerfed my powers. I have no idea what to do. Also, the Iscariot guy gave Keith a concussion and fucked up his face.”

“Shit.” Hissed Pidge. “What are we going to do?”

“What the hell happened here?” Asked Adam. The trio turned to see the man looking horrified. 

“Crazy magic shit.” Said Pidge. “If we survive tonight you’ll get used to it.”

“I see…” Adam’s eyes were focused on the Iscariot in Shiro. His look of shock quickly melted into one of annoyance. Without any hesitation Adam walked up behind the man and held his hand to the back of his head. “Sanctus percutiens!” A flash of light shot out the back of Adam palm and the man fell to the ground in a heap. 

Everyone looked between Adam and the man on the floor in shock. Shiro swallowed slowly and cautiously looked up at him. “A-Adam?”

Adam ignored him and kicked the unconscious man on the ground. “Damn it Curtis! What is wrong with you? I told you before that I was in love with him! What the hell was the point of going all holy knight on his ass? You never go full Iscariot!” He kicked Curtis’s unconscious body again. 

“Time out!” Called Lance. “You’re an Iscariot?” 

“Yes.” Adam sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Alright… I guess I have some explaining to do… This is going to be long… But first you all need to be healed.”


	15. The life and times of Adam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did... way to much... god damn... maths... and looking up history... for this one damn chapter... Appreciate my suffering! lamo. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Adam easily cast healing magic on the group, instantly healing the gash on Keith’s cheek and giving Shiro the ability to use his tail again. He also removed what he called a “curse” that Curtis had placed on Lance so he could use magic again.

Once everyone was safe and healed, Adam turned his attention to Curtis who was still unconscious on the floor. “He’s not a bad person.” Said Adam. “Curtis is just… He’s overprotective of me. Always has been since we were children.”

“Wait, so I’m confused.” Said Pidge. “You’re Adam, the same Adam that was with Shiro way back in the day, but you have been reincarnated?”

“To put it in the simplest terms, yes. That is correct. Due to the nature of my reincarnations I am born with the same face and physical physique that I have been blessed with in the past, but I am not completely the same. There are a few differences every time. For example, last time I was born I had lactose intolerance. This time I don’t.” Said Adam.

“I can’t fucking believe it…” Muttered Keith as he rubbed his freshly healed cheek. “You’re a fucking demon killer. How the hell could you just… How the hell could either of you even be together?”

Adam and Shiro looked at each other before Shiro shrugged. “To be fair I really just thought that Adam was a normal human.”

Lance sighed dramatically. “Okay! We all get it. Demon slayer and a demon hooking up. Sounds like a bad, cliche romance novel to me, but whatever. How did this all come about?”

Adam sighed as he carefully thought this over. “Okay… I guess I should start at the beginning… Back when I first became part of the Iscariots…”

***

In Adam’s first life he was born in 1076 to a merchant family that sailed around the Mediterranean. They had a relatively happy childhood as far as Adam remembered, though it might have been considered poor by today’s standards. His mother passed away when he was six due to sepsis and his father, deeming Adam too much trouble to have with him on a ship. He was sent to live with his uncle who lived in Rome. 

His uncle was wealthy and sent Adam to study to become a member of the clergy. It was there Adam first met Curtis. The two boys got along rather well and quickly became good friends. They were inseparable.

When they turned thirteen they were taken by a Cardanel to meet with a man called “Brother Iverson” but he didn’t look like anyone the boys had ever seen before. For some reason they were told to go with him for they had been specially chosen for the Lord’s scared mission. They even had an audience with Pope Gregory the VII who confirmed what Iverson had said.

They were taken to the Iscariot headquarters and started to undergo special training. It was arduous and frustrating at times. They practically had to unlearn all the things that they were taught before. They basically had to become herratics to become the holy knights that they needed to be in order to save the world from demons.

In early 1095 there was talk among the Iscariots about demonic activity in Jerusalem. They had heard that it might have just been Pope Urban II being a dick, but they didn’t care what he wanted to do. They had their orders. They knew what they needed to do. Though Curtis had reservations.

“Don’t you think this is kind of scummy?” He asked Adam one night.

Adam had been doing his apothecary studies by candle light and didn’t even realise Curtis was talking to him. “What?”

“The Pope wants people to go to war to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims.” Curtis grumbled. “That is just… I don’t understand. How is he going to get an army to go?”

“I heard he’s going to offer absolute redemption to any man that takes up arms for the church.” Said Adam calmly. “Which just means there’s going to be a lot of murder, rape and thieving by those that just want an excuse while absolving their mortal souls.”

“Yeah. Perfect breeding grounds for demons.” Muttered Curtis. “I really hope it doesn’t happen. I don’t want to go all the way over there to fight demons. It’s annoying.”

Adam shrugged. “We shall see. You just don’t want to die.”

“Dying sounds like it will hurt!” Whined Curtis. “I don’t want to get stabbed or my head cut off. Hell, I’ll probably die from some infection from stubbing my toe before we even get to the Holy Land.”

Hearing that made Adam chuckle. “Yeah? Well if you die we’ll just have to meet up in our next life.”

“Aw, you want to meet up with me again?”

“Of course.” Said Adam. “We’re best friends aren’t we? Plus we’re Iscariots. Even if we die as long as we remember who we are and our purpose we will live again.”

Curtis smiled softly at Adam when he said that. “Okay. If either of us die, we will meet in the next life. Promise?”

“Promise.”

In July of 1096 Adam died from an arrow to the eye. The strike was so powerful it split through his skull. He was dead before he hit the ground.

When Adam was reborn again he was the bastard child of a prostitute in 1163 France. She didn’t give him much time and Adam was practically abandoned and cursed by her at the age of five. Adam spent his days wandering the streets and would either find himself at the docks watching the ships coming and going or he’d be watching the construction of Notre Dame.

At the construction sight he happened to see some darker skinned labarours. He wasn’t sure if they had actually been hired or if they were slaves or something. Either way he couldn’t stop watching them. They reminded him of someone but he couldn’t pinpoint who.

After several months of this he saw a boy about his age giving his father his lunch. Their eyes met for about a second and everything just clicked for Adam. He remembered his past life as an Iscariot and his life with Curtis. The boys went to each other, almost crying and hugged. It was Curtis. He too had been reborn a year after Adam had, and seemed to remember what had happened too when their eyes met too.

As they were so young and Curtis had a very loving family, the two boys ended up spending lots of time together. Eventually when they were seventeen they boys made their pilgrimage back to Italy so they could reconnect with the Iscariots like they had vowed to do in their previous life.

After they had been taken back into the fold they were sent to England to purge the land of some troublesome fae that were causing problems for everything human. They did their duty and they did it well. Many fae was slaughtered by Curtis’s weapons while Adam’s potions and magic made them practically invincible.

Four years later in 1183 they were called back to their headquarters. They stayed there for another three years honing their skills and improving their chosen skills to a fine art. It was in this life Curtis learned how to use a holy weapon called the conversion stick. Adam didn’t have the same mastery as Curtis did, his skill seemed to lie in apothecary so he spent his time crafting potions to heal and poisons.

Unfortunately for Adam, he was unfortunate enough to succumb to measles along with a cold that Winter and he died a horribly painful death by Curtis’s side. If he had a choice he didn’t want to die that way again. Neither by illness nor while his friend watched him wither away.

The third time Adam was reborn he was the son of a Lord in England in 1219, and in a twist of fate Curtis was the son of his father’s slaves. When the two boys met at the tender age of one they remembered who they were and their past lives. They were bonded together through their memories even if their bodies hadn’t caught up to their true mental ages yet.

They escaped from their home in 1234 to go back to the Iscariots. Once they were back within the fold they were sent to Spain to assist the Iscariots of their Jewish and Muslim branches that were trying to escape. Along with killing any demons that they might find along the way.

One night they were staying at an inn on the border of Spain and France when Curtis was in the mood to have one of his deep conversations. “Do you think the Inquisition is wrong? Like, they are killing heretics and stuff. So like?” 

“They are mainly after Jews.” Said Adam as he stared up at the ceiling. “They want them to convert to Christianity. Kill those who don’t. Us against them bullshit. You know? It’s like the crusades with the Muslims, but you know, this time it’s Jews.”

“You think next time it’ll be the Christians?”

“One can only hope.”

“That’s heretic talk.”

Adam chuckled and looked over at Curtis. “Well maybe I am a heretic? Some dirty, filthy heretic that’s trying to convert you to the dark side.”

Curtis gave him an amused look. “You trying to seduce me?”

Adam shrugged. “Maybe I am? We are exempt from the normal sins that everyone else is. Physical relations reserved for a man and woman technically shouldn’t be sinful between two men when they are Iscariots.”

Curtis looked shocked for a moment when he heard Adam suggest that. But then he had a thoughtful look on his face. “Huh… Alright… That is actually… huh… I’ll have to think about that.” The man was quiet for most of the evening thinking about what Adam had said. Adam was almost asleep when Curtis spoke again. “What do you think of women?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think of women?” Asked Curtis. “Neither of us have ever really expressed much of an interest towards the fairer sex. I mean, they are pretty, but I’ve never imagined my life with a woman beyond fighting with our sisters within the Iscariots… Would it be considered a sin to like men?”

Adam groaned in annoyance. “Even if it is what does it matter? We are allowed to indulge in as much sin as possible in exchange for slaying demons. A man lying with another man is no more of a sin to the Iscariots than eating red meat on Good Friday.”

“...”

“So can I sleep now or are you going to experience another existential crisis?”

“Yeah, sure. Sleep. I need to think.”

Curtis didn’t speak more about their conversation about men and the possibility of liking men the way a man would normally love a woman until five years later in 1239. They were just hanging out in the Iscariot headquarters when Curtis spoke up.

“I think I’m strange?” He posed it more as a question than a statement.

“I could have told you that you were strange.” Said Adam as he bopped Curtis in the head with a scroll. “Be more specific.”

Curtis sighed. “I like men. I like men the way a man likes a woman.”

“Oh…”

“Isn’t that strange?” Said Curtis as his voice wavered. “I like men and if I wasn’t an Iscariot it would be seen as a sin and I could be killed for it… If I wasn’t I’d be…”

Adam frowned and hugged him. He didn’t like seeing Curtis cry for any reason. “Well you are an Iscariot. Maybe sometime in the future we’ll see a change and the wider world won’t see it as a sin? Just wait it out. It will be okay…” He quickly leaned forward and kissed Curtis on the cheek. “Besides, I’m strange too.”

From there things quickly spiraled from nervously stealing kisses in the libraries or behind the pillars when no one was looking. When they were alone in their bedchambers they did become more experimental. They didn’t really know what they were doing but they had all the time in the world to experiment and explore.

In 1249 the two of them were in Egypt when King Louis IX of France decided to start the seventh crusade. It was just convenient for the two of them to go with the crusade rather than get their own boat. Their main goal was to get to Egypt at the behest of some of the Muslim branch of the Iscariots.

They were asked to assist with some ghouls trying to steal artifacts from the pyramids. Something about gold or gems. Adam didn’t care that much. He was more concerned with the hoard of ghouls trying to rip them apart. They won the fight, but Curtis lost his leg and Adam had unfortunately lost his life again.

The next life gave Adam whiplash. He was born in 1353, England. He was literally ten years old when he walked across the streets, happened to see Curtis walking out of a pub and was immediately run over by some bastard on a horse and died. They didn’t even get to talk that time. Adam was embarrassed about that one.

Then Adam was born again in 1452. He was born into a wealthy family and happened to find Curtis. A slave to friend of his father. They escaped the night they had met and made it to the Iscariot stronghold before either adult knew. The Iscariots hid them well enough for many years until they were given their next mission.

They were to be set to two different villages in Germany a day’s walk apart. Not something that either men really wanted, but they were able to deal with it. Adam built his home a fair distance away from the rest of the village. It was the only land they would give him. He had a very strong feeling they were just racists, but they tolerated him because he was good at making medicine.

Every now and then he would meet up with Curtis and they would talk about their own findings. Curtis had a small infestation of annoying goblins that he needed to exterminate while Adam didn’t even have a mouse to kill. It was actually kind of nice. He could focus on his apothecary and help people more directly than he did before.

Then something happened in 1477. Something big. Adam had felt like something was watching him for days on end. He wasn’t sure what it was but he knew it wasn’t human, nor animal. It was supernatural. He was kind of excited.

He went into the forest to see if he could lure them out, along with collecting some mushrooms. Adam had been so distracted by the thing following him he didn’t even notice the wolf with almost fatal consequences. He thought he was going to die again.

So he was extremely surprised when the creature that had been following him had jumped out and murdered the wolf in front of his eyes. Unsure of what to do Adam defaulted to his usual demeanor and started berating the creature and forcing them back to his cabin to treat his wounds.

This creature called itself Shiro and was surprisingly sociable. They talked a lot and by the end of their conversation Adam had concluded that Shiro was a manticore. It was pretty obvious to a well trained individual like himself. But he had to wonder why Shiro saved him and didn’t kill him. Was he the kind of demon that liked to play with his food? Was he sadistic? He wasn’t sure. He had talked to Curtis about Shiro a few times when they next met up.

Curtis wasn’t amused. “So you let him go?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you just kill him? You could have poisoned him.”

Adam shrugged. “Shiro mentioned he had a family. They might come looking for him if he suddenly dies. If I fought one manticore I would be fine, but a whole pack? On my own? I’d rather not be eaten to death.”

Curtis rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t fight them alone. I would be there too.”

Adam chuckled a little and squeezed Adam’s hand. “You are a strange one Curtis. I have enough basic magic knowledge to stun my enemies long enough to throw a jar of acid at them. I’ll be fine… Besides Shiro’s surprisingly nice. It’s like he’s trying to become part of human society.”

“Demons do that all the time.” Pointed out Curtis. “Don’t let your guard down. Shiro is a manticore. He will kill you if you give him the chance. Don’t give him the chance.”

“I won’t. You worry about me too much Curtis.”

Turns out Curtis was right to worry about Shiro. The Manticore was quickly winning over Adam’s heart. The way he smiled at him, the way he would bring him random gifts, and just being around him made Adam feel safe. Which was something he knew he shouldn’t be feeling. Shiro was a manticore.

But in all honest Adam didn’t mind. He knew Shiro probably wouldn’t develop those kinds of feelings for him anyway, since he was a human and Shiro was a Manticore. Though he was a damn good looking and nice and… Adam caught himself rambling as he thought about Shiro. Even when he was there with him he’d always daydream of him.

The two of them often went for walks in the woods to collect plants. Shiro was more than happy to help him if it meant they could spend more time together. 

“What about that one?” Shiro asked as he pointed to a mushroom.

Adam shook his head. “Poisonous. Are you sure you’re a hunter if you can’t identify deadly mushrooms?”

Shiro shrugged. “I don’t usually eat mushrooms.”

“Fair enough… How long until you move away? Winter will be here soon.”

“... I have enough food and my family is also good at hunting.” Shiro smiled softly as he spoke of them. “Keith is really good at hunting. He’s just a kid but he’s really good at it. He’s good at hiding, but he keeps eating bugs…”

“Bugs?”

“He’s a little weird, but it’s not like he’s eating anything really bad.” Said Shiro. “He’s really small, but very cute.”

Adam chuckled. “Most little brothers can be.”

“Do you have a younger brother?”

“No. Not in this lifetime. I wouldn’t mind one though. I wouldn’t mind having a family like yours.” Which was true. Being an Iscariot basically meant he couldn’t have a family or anything of the sort while in service to the organization. He almost wished that he’d met Shiro when he didn’t have his memories of being an Iscariot. He he didn’t have his knowledge he would run off with Shiro in a heartbeat.

Then again, what was stopping him from doing that? It was just his sense of duty to the Iscariots that kept him going back. He didn’t actually have to go back if he didn’t want to. He was sure some Iscariots never actually went back if they remembered. He didn’t have to. He could just fade away and disappear with Shiro, if he would take them.

It all came to a head one day when Adam was trying to figure out he could talk to Shiro about running away together. He didn’t even mind at this point of Shiro or his pack ended up eating him. He was trapped in the village and needed any escape he could get. Before he could express this to Shiro, the manticore kissed him and confessed his love before he ran away.

Adam ran after him and he was surprised to see that Shiro revealed himself to him. His true form. He was a Manticore and he was beautiful, stunning even. For the first time they declared their love for each other in both an emotional and physical sense.

They just needed a week to get organised. So much was able to change in a week. It all started the day after Shiro left to get everything ready on his end while Adam cleaned up and packed his things.

Curtis walked into Adam’s small home for their usual visit. He was surprised to see many of Adam’s things were packed. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Is it time to meet up again?” Asked Adam and he packed his books away. He knew the tone in Curtis’s voice, and he knew this didn’t bode well. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I came by to check on you… There have been talks about Witch hunts in my village and I don’t want you to get caught up in all this.”

Adam shrugged and hung his satchel up. “Why would I have anything to worry about?”

“Adam, you’re an apothecary!” Said Curtis in a worried tone. “You make people better. Time and time again people that practice these kinds of things have been considered to be devil worshipers. People will think you are a witch! Did the Iscariots call you back already? If you’re going now then get out before it’s too late.”

He scoffed at the notion. “Right. Sure. Me, a witch. That’s rich Curtis.”

“I’m serious!” Curtis grabbed Adam’s arm and forced the other man to look at him. “Adam, you’re my best friend and my brother in arms. We have a sacred duty to protect humans from demons even though they do not deserve it… But I can’t let you keep doing something stupid! Even you know it’s stupid! Are you going back to the Iscariots headquarters?”

Adam frowned and pulled his arm away from Curtis. “So what if I’m leaving? What business is it of yours?”

“We’re best friends!” Said Curtis like it was obvious. “Damn it Adam, I’m trying to help you! There is a witch finder in the next town and I know for a fact he is coming here! He’s a charlatan! A crook! A snake oil salesman! The town will single you out and you’ll get put on trial! They will torture you and they will kill you! Since you’re packed you have to leave now! Come back to my village with me! You’ll be safe there… I know some people. You can work for them for a while. At least until you can buy your way back to headquarters and-”

“You’re rambling again.” Said Adam calmly. He glanced over at his packed belongings and sighed. “Curtis, I’m happy you’re looking out for me, really I am but… I honestly can’t leave just yet. I’m waiting for Shiro.”

“... The Manticor?” He questioned. “The Manticore you said you were going to kill?”

“Things are different now.” Muttered Adam. “I was going to kill him… I had so many opportunities to but he… Curtis, I’m in love with Shiro.”

Curtis was dumbfounded. There was no way this was true. This had to be fake, right? Some kind of joke. “Adam, that isn’t funny… Just grab your stuff and come with me now. The witch finder is going to be here tomorrow. You know as well as I do that the villagers will turn you over when he gets here.”

He went to grab one of Adam’s bags, but Adam stopped him. “No. Leave it.”

“Why? Adam, I’m trying to save you!”

Adam rolled his eyes. “And what happens when you save me huh? I go back to the Iscariots? They will just send me off to some other far off part of the world to fight more demons! Shiro won’t be able to find me!”

“You’re going to run away with a demon? What about your oath? You swore to uphold the truths that the Iscariots believe in! Just like me! How can you turn your back on them this easily?”

An uneasy silence filled the house. Adam’s expression slowly softened. “Curtis, how many lifetimes have we lived? How many demons have we killed? How much have we sacrificed for a world that never deserved to be saved?”

“...”

“I fell in love with Shiro. He might be a Manticore but he is the kindest man I have ever met. He should just see me as food, but he has gone out of his way to save my life and try to protect me… We’re going to run away together. With any luck abandoning the Iscariot’s means I have forfeited my chance at being reborn.”

Curtis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was insane. “You’ll give up this life and a possible reincarnation all for him?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Curtis just couldn’t understand Adam’s way of thinking. They were Iscariot’s. They killed demons. They didn’t bed them. Adam himself and ended the lives of hundreds before Shiro. What made him so different? “He’s a Manticore. He could kill you and eat you the second you two are alone…”

“I am prepared to make that sacrifice.” Said Adam calmly. “Curtis, for far too long we have been reborn and for what? To go back to the Iscariot’s so we can kill demons again and again… Neither of us have ever lived a normal life have we? We’ve lived for so long and yet never once in our lives have we ever gone out to try and build lives for ourselves.”

“If you stay here you will die… Do you really want this to be the end? Do you really want your life to amount to this?”

Adam smiled a little and put his hand on Curtis’s shoulder. “Humans weren’t meant to live the countless lifetimes the Iscariot’s made us live… If something goes wrong and I do end up getting killed… If I’m reborn again I trust that you’ll make sure I don’t make the same mistakes again?”

“... Adam, I vow to you as your friend that if you are reborn I’ll never let you remember you’re an Iscariot. I’ll make sure you live your life as you were meant to. Only once.”

For a moment Adam looked relieved. “Thank you Curtis… Now you should go. If things turn out as planned I will be gone with Shiro before anything bad happens. Once everything is fixed on his end we’re gone.”

Adam died a horrible death in 1477. Then when he was reborn once again he was born to a middle class family. He was an only child, but he was happy. He loved his parents and they loved him. They moved into a small suburban neighborhood.

He was about five when he first met Curtis, but this time it was different. Curtis remembered who he was, but Adam didn’t remember him at all. Adam was just playing in the front yard when Curtis ran towards him. 

“Adam!” He yelled like the boisterous five year old he was.

Adam for his part was a quiet child and didn’t know what was going on. “W-who are you?”

Curtis paused and frowned. “I’m Curtis? Don’t you remember?” Adam quickly shook his head. A Curtis seemed to go through a mix of emotions before he just smiled at him. “Ah, that’s okay. I don’t think we actually met. My dad and your dad were talking and you weren’t there. He said he had a son called Adam, so I assumed that was you.”

“Right… So you’re Curtis?”

“Yep. That’s right.” Said Curtis as he happily smiled at him and rocked back and forth on his feet. “I’m your neighbor. Want to be friends?”

Adam smiled back at him. “Sure.”

***

“And then I just… Well this happened.” Said Adam as he gestured to Curtis who was still passed out on the floor, but Hunk had rolled him onto his back and was balancing a bag of ice on his head. “Curtis and I have a huge history together and he’s just been trying to fulfill a promise he made to me, but he failed.”

“... Well, this reincarnation stuff is bullshit.” Said Pidge. “Congratulations Shiro, your boyfriend respawned.”

A look of horror made its way onto Adam’s face. “Oh my god I did respawn… I’m like a shitty video game character...” He quickly pulled himself together and looked over at Shiro. “I um… I know this is a lot to take in… I didn’t get enough time to explain myself to you, but I wanted to. I really wanted to tell you the truth. I just wanted to get away from that village and the witch finder first.”

He gently touched Shiro’s face and ran his hand over his cheek. Shiro looked confused and hurt, but he accepted the gesture anyway. He still clearly loved Adam more than anything in the world, but this revelation was a bit of a blow to him.

“We’ve missed so much time together…” Said Adam. “You’ve changed so much. You didn’t have a scar on your face when we last met… What happened to your arm and your wings?”

Keith growled at him. “Leave him alone. Don’t touch him.” He pushed Adam away from Shiro and stood between them. “You don’t get to talk to him! You have any idea what you put him through?”

“Oh, so it’s my fault I got killed?”

“You know magic! You could have saved yourself!”

“I don’t know offensive magic! I know defensive magic! And it doesn’t work well on large groups!” Snapped Adam. “You think I wanted to die? You think I wanted to hurt Shiro? I was excited to start a new life with him! I was happy to be part of your pack and meet you!”

“Well fuck you!”

Shiro put his paw on Keith’s shoulder. “Enough Keith… Just… It’s time to stop.”

Lance pulled Keith away from the pair and sighed. “Look, I’m tired. Everyone is tired. Can we just wrap this up and go home now? I think we’re all done.”

Suddenly Curtis jerked awake and quickly tried to grab for his weapons. Adam just rolled his eyes and held up the other’s weapons. “You shouldn’t move around so much… Also, fuck you! I love Shiro! Why would you try to kill him?!”

Curtis looked at Adam like he was a moron. “He’s a Manticore living on a gate to hell! There’s a Sin-Eater living here, and a guy that’s pretty much a god! The Manticore was standing over your unconscious body and I panicked!”

“Oh my god you were stalking me?! The fuck Curtis!” The two continued to yell at each other and argue while everyone else kind of just stood back and watched this all unfold. It was weird. 

While everyone was shocked about the fact that this really was Adam’s reincarnation, Lance was more interested in what Curtis had done to him. He stopped him from using his powers. How did he do that? Could he do that again? Could he do it and stop him from going into that weird god mode? If it’s possible, he wanted to do it again.

Adam grabbed Curtis by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “I’m sorry. But we’re going to have to go home now. We can talk later Shiro. I have to deal with this now.”

Curtis rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. “I’m not a child.”

Adam glared at him. “Yes you are. Now apologies to Shiro for attacking him.”

“What?”

“Do it!”

Curtis frowned a little but reluctantly relented. “I’m sorry I tried to kill you… I thought that you were going to hurt him… I wouldn’t normally I just… I’m tired of constantly losing Adam!”

“Um… okay. It’s fine.” Said Shiro quietly. “Kind of used to everyone trying to kill me anyway, so…”

Adam smiled a little at him and looked over to everyone else while he pulled Curtis along by the arm. “Okay, well, so sorry for everything that happened. We’re leaving now… Please call me soon Shiro… if you… when you feel up to it…” Adam promptly dragged Curtis right out of the house.

When they were gone Pidge promptly dusted herself off. “Right… I’m gonna get drunk. Tonight’s a failure. I’m gonna drown my sorrows. I’m gonna drink until it comes out of my eyeballs. I’m gonna get drunk!” She quickly left the room and came back with as many bottles she could carry and handed them out to everyone. After that everything that just went down they all needed something.


	16. Guilt tripping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much the fallout between Shiro, Adam, and Curtis. But things will be back to more Klance in the next chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

During the drive back to their apartment Curtis was relatively silent and so was Adam. Adam was still furious with Curtis about trying to kill Shiro. It was Shiro. His Shiro. Granted he had some valid reasons to be concerned and he did say he panicked. Curtis never made the best decisions when he panicked.

“... Really Curtis?” He managed to grumble. “Really? I get you were trying to make it so I could live and not have to go back to the Iscariots, but still…”

“I just wanted you to live the life you wanted to live…” Said Curtis quietly. “Even if it’s not with me…”

“Curtis… You know that what we did-”

“-I know.” Said Curtis quickly. “I know… The things we did in the past with each other and to each other… I still care about you. First and foremost you are my friend. You’ve always been there for me…”

Adam gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. Of course Curtis would say that. He’s always been so selfless when it came to him. The poor man’s feeling extended far deeper than that of mere friendship. Both knew it. Neither of them were stupid. Adam just didn’t feel the same way. 

He couldn’t help it. When they had sex all those life times ago he didn’t feel the same connection Curtis seemed to have for him. He had always felt there was a disconnect between his own emotions and physical pleasure. That was until he met Shiro and had sex with him for the first time. Everything just felt complete with him. Not that Curtis wasn’t a godsend, but he had moved on.

“When you were talking to them before, what did you tell them?” Asked Curtis.

“The abridged version as to how I became an Iscariot and how I met Shiro the first time.” Said Adam. “Nothing they really needed to know.”

“... Did you tell them how you died the last time?”

Adam shook his head. “No. I’d never be able to tell Shiro that… I told them we don’t really remember the days up until our deaths. The truth would crush him. He’s already suffered enough with the guilt.”

Curtis sighed a little and looked out the window. “It’s irresponsible. If Shiro comes into contact with any friendly Iscariots he’ll know you’re lying. They will tell him that your deaths are some of the first memories you remember. They are burned into your memory. Even more so when you’re tortured days before you die. How many days did you suffer while waiting for Shiro to come and save you?”

“... I don’t want to talk about this right now.” He muttered. “While it wasn’t the worst thing to have happened to me, I think getting eaten alive by ghouls was pretty terrible. I just… I still have some muscle memory from what they did to me… My whole body hurts and my lungs feel like they are on fire. I can’t tell if that’s from the burning or the drowning.”

Curtis stayed quiet for the rest of the ride home. When they got into their apartment Adam went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of scotch, he chose to ignore the glass and drink straight from the bottle.

“... You should use a glass.” Said Curtis quietly.

“Leave me alone Curtis.” Muttered Adam. “Do you have any idea what’s going on? I am in love with a Manticore and I’m a demon slayer… I never got to tell him the truth and then I died! He’s been trying to get over my death for who knows how long? He was improving his own life and he trusted me enough to show me who he really is…” He took a long swing of his whisky and sat down on the couch. 

“Adam…”

Adam glared at him. “No just… Just stop. I want to be alone right now. Please.”

“... Okay.” Curtis went to his room but paused at the doorway. “I-I’m sorry about how I acted. I really did try and do what was best for you… And for what it’s worth I was happy that you found Shiro.”

“Just go away…” He muttered before he downed another mouthful. He was going to get hungover, but he didn’t care. Adam was angry at Curtis for attacking Shiro, and he was made at himself for remembering what he was, and he was angry he sold his soul to be an Iscariot. 

His head hurt, his skin felt itchy, and the guilt about everything was weighing down on him. Just another story about the bitter pills of fate. Adam wanted it to stop. He didn’t want this to keep happening. He was done with the Iscariots. He was done remembering the things that happened to him in the past. If he could just go back to being Adam, born this time. Born only once with no dead memories he would be happy.

But he remembered. He remembered it too well. He could still remember it as clear as day when he closed his eyes. He’d hoped the alcohol might have helped to numb it all, but it only made it hurt more and seemed to make his emory clearer. Was this part of his punishment for trying to run away? For falling in love? He didn’t know. He closed his eyes and let the violent memories of his past consume him.

***

There was swift judgement when the witchfinder came to town. It didn’t take long for the villagers to quickly turn on Adam. They dragged him out of his house like a mob while they set it on fire. They burnt everything to the ground. Adam had half hoped that Shiro was nearby so that they could come in and save him. But he knew it was doubtful. He just had to grin and bear it. In a sick way this was almost what he wanted. He wanted a way out and now he was going to get it, just not the way he wanted.

He was dragged to the church for his trial. He was bound with rope and forced to listen to people talking over and over again about how he was bewitching them. How his medicines were making people sick. How he had somehow poisoned someone’s dog and how he made a woman miscarry. It was ridiculous. The only thing that was even true was the woman that said she saw him with a demon. She had seen him with Shiro when he showed him his true form. From her testimony she also had seen them having sex. Which horrified and frightened the congregation.

In front of everyone he was forced to say the Lord’s Prayer without stumbling or making a single mistake. He stuttered once and people were gasping and calling him a witch. A witch wasn’t meant to be able to speak scripture without messing it up apparently.

The witch finder, in all their sleazy glory calmed the crowd. “While this test is a good indicator, there are several more tests we must perform.” He had said. “We need to perform several more tests to make sure he is definitely a witch! Where is your nearest river?”

Stripped down to his undergarments, Adam was bound in tight ropes and tossed into the river. If he floated it meant he wasn’t baptised and the water would reject him, making him float. While if he was baptised and innocent he would sink and drown. Adam couldn’t swim, even if his limbs weren’t tied up. He sank like a rock. He did his best to hold his breath, but he quickly started to black out.

Before he actually died though, he was yanked out of the water with the rope they had tied around his waist. It winded him and he choked on water, but he was pulled out in time. The crowd was calling for his blood. Apparently Adam had started to float a little as he had thrashed around in the water. More evidence he was a witch.

Then just to humiliate Adam even more, he was forced to strip naked in front of the crowd and was held down as the witch finder searched his body for a witch’s mark. Adam knew he wouldn’t find anything. He didn’t have any moles and because of his darker skin tone he didn’t get freckles like anyone else in the village would have.

When he couldn’t find anything, the witch finder ordered Adam taken to a shed that was used for storage by the church. This was his holding cell for the next few days. The witch finder administered more tests for him to endure. By now everyone was in agreement that he was a witch, but they just had to torture a confession out of him.

This bastard administered what he called “pricking”. It was observed by the town Mayor and acting Judge along with the town priest. Adam was naked and strung up to a support beam as he was repeatedly stabbed over and over with a needle to find his supposed witch’s mark. He didn’t want to cry out and give them satisfaction, but a witch’s mark was meant to be insensitive to pain and not bleed. Adam just suspected that this man wanted to stab him because he was a sadistic fuck that took pleasure out of this.

He didn’t know when it started happening, but they started beating him. Maybe it was the second or third day of their interrogation? There were no signs that Shiro was coming back. Not so much as a roar. They were going to kill him soon. Maybe this was some kind of divine punishment for daring to leave the Iscariot’s? If he died would he finally be allowed to rest or would he be reborn again? He didn’t want to be reborn if it meant going back to the Iscariot’s. 

After one particularly hard beating Adam was left strung up and naked overnight in the shed. With a shaky breath he looked longingly at the sky through a crack in the shed. He could see the moon. It was beautiful. “Shiro…” He whispered. “If I was to be reborn again I’d want to be with you… Please come and find me… Please… I’m sorry...”

The next day was the worst. He was tied and whipped within an inch of his life. “Confess!” They chanted. “Confess!”

By then Adam had given up hope of Shiro coming by. He’d been interrogated for five days now. Five days too many. “I confess!” He yelled. “I confess!”

The witch finder looked triumphant. “You confess to being a witch?”

“No.” Spat Adam. “I’m not a witch. I work for Pope Francesco della Rovere!” The men in the room seemed to grow silent as he talked. “I am part of a secret group called the Iscariot’s… We are given blessings by the Pope to do whatever is necessary to vanquish demons from land. We’re allowed to perform sins that normal humans wouldn’t be allowed to do. We do what we must to save humans. Humans like yourself that deserve nothing but the pits of hell for your crimes against humanity!”

“Blasphemous!” Declared the Priest. “He’s speaking blashemes! He is a witch! He confessed! He must burn!”

The next few hours were a blur for Adam. He was forced back into the church for his sentencing. Unsurprisingly he was declared a witch and was sentenced to burn at the stake until he was dead. He was tied up to his eyes to a stake in the town square by the end of the day. The Mayor of the town was giving a grand speech while everyone watched.

Adam looked longingly at the sky again. This was how he was going to die? A painful death. “I can’t believe it…” He muttered. “So close… I was so close…”

Someone in the crowd started calling out that he was saying spells. The witch finder happily started the fire. The kindling they found caused thick smoke to billow out. With any luck he would suffocate before he actually burned. The smoke was already making his eyes water. Still they were screaming about how he was curing them.

Fuck it, he was already going to die. He had a bit of a flair for the dramatic and thought he deserved one last fuck you to evertone. “I curse you!” He shouted. “Every last one of you! Young and old! None of you will die a natural death! All of you! Every single soul in here I’ll drag down to hell! No salvation! Only blood!” He started coughing. “Blood and screaming!” Adam started coughing more. He was becoming dizzy from the smoke and the heat was only just starting to reach his feet. His lungs started to burn and thankfully he was given the mercy of passing out before the fire had spread too far up his legs.

***

Several hours later Curtis ventured out to see if Adam was okay. Adam was passed out on the couch with an empty bottle in one hand and tear stains down his cheeks. It broke Curtis’s heart. He put the bottle in the recycling, and very carefully picked Adam up, taking him to his bedroom. With great care Curtis changed Adam into his pyjamas and put him into bed.

Adam didn’t deserve this shit. He had tried so hard to keep Adam happy and away from anything that might have triggered his memory. Who would have thought it would have been seeing Shiro in his manticore form that triggered it this time? Then again Adam was starting to get his memory back just by being around Shiro. Maybe it was just his face? Looking at his face just started to trigger everything for him.

That was depressing. While he was happy just meeting Adam didn’t make him remember he couldn’t help but feel that he’d been replaced by Shiro in Adam’s heart. He didn’t feel any kind of anger, he just felt disappointed. 

He sighed and went back to his own room. He lied down on his own bed and stared up at the ceiling. He messed up. He really messed up. But he was scared. What was he going to do when he saw a Manticore lean over his unconscious body? He just needed to protect him. He needed to save Adam. It was instinctive. His body just moved on its own.

Curtis had no idea what was going to happen now. Would Adam join the Iscariot’s again? Would he just leave? Would he leave him? They had been friends for centuries. He couldn’t just throw it all away, could he? Well, yeah he could, but with his memories back he would know how much Curtis cared for him. How much he wanted what was best for him.

That thought almost made him laugh. He was sounding like an obsessed stalker.

***

Shiro didn’t know how to feel that night. Adam was his Adam. Always had been, but he kind of wasn’t at the same time? He didn’t really understand. It made him feel weird. He didn’t know what to think or feel about it. 

He still loved Adam. He always would. Their heart and soul were always connected together. He hadn’t technically lied to him or anything. They just didn’t have the time to talk about it. Shiro couldn’t be mad at him for that. He loved him. He loved him so much. He wanted to hold Adam and make sure that he was okay. That he wasn’t in pain. He hated it.

But he still couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Adam was a demon slayer. Could he really believe that Adam wouldn’t have gone and hurt Keith or Akira if he had brought them to the packs? Keith was just a kit back then. He could have very easily been killed when he was that small. He could have been tricking him. He curled up tightly in his nest and tried not to sob.

As he sniffled heard someone enter his room and climb into his nest. He glanced up at Keith. He felt some comfort knowing that his littermate was there with him. Keith kneeled by Shiro and did his best to hug him. 

“Shiro… I am so sorry…”

“It’s okay.” He said. “It’s not your fault… I’m just confused. I don’t know how I should feel.”

“I don’t know either… I mean, the Iscariots have pretty much decided that we’re their enemy for no reason. I mean, we’re just existing… Do you think if Adam actually did come to live with us that he would have tried to kill us? I mean, he’s an Iscariot… Demon killers… He definitely would have murdered me and my dar. Iscariots really seem to hate Sin-Eaters...”

Shiro looked up at Keith and frowned. “Adam wouldn’t do that to you.”

“You don’t know that.” Said Keith. “He could have been lying. How can we trust anything he said?”

“... I guess… Fuck, I’m an idiot…” Muttered Shiro. “What kind of normal human would actually want something like me? Let alone something that looks like me. I’m deformed now. I have no wings and I’m missing an arm.”

“Hey! I didn’t it like mean that.” Said Keith quickly. He put his hand on Shiro’s paw and squeezed. “Who cares if you’re missing your wings and your arm? You’re still you. You’re Shiro. You’re my littermate… I love you, you idiot… I’m just saying Adam wasn’t everything he seemed.”

Shiro sighed sadly. “He didn’t have his memory Keith… And he didn’t have a chance to tell me anything… I have no idea what to do now… What should I do? How long should I wait until I try and talk to him? A day? Two days?”

“... I don’t know.” Said Keith. “Lance and I have never had something like that happen to us…”

“Yeah… You should go back to him. Lance is probably wondering where you are.”

Keith shook his head and nuzzled his littermate. “No… Lance knows I’m here. He knows why I’m here. It’s fine. Really. He’s not upset about me wanting to sleep in your next tonight.”

“... Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure. You shouldn’t be alone tonight.”

Shiro nodded a little and pulled Keith close. It had been months since they slept in the same nest together. He missed it. He was thankful that Keith wanted to do this. It brought him some comfort in his confused state.


	17. A deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys like the direction I'm taking this? I mean, I kind of have a plan for where it's going to go, but I'd like to hear from you guys if you guys feel like it's going to go one way... I just like bouncing ideas off of others. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance’s head was swimming with ideas ever since Curtis was able to stop him from using magic. He had only assumed that someone like Bob was able to do that. But Curtis did it. Maybe he could do it again? Maybe… Maybe either he or Adam could do it? Maybe an Iscariot could do it? Would he be able to talk to them without them murdering him on the spot? Maybe if he could just talk to Adam he could-

“You okay?” Asked Keith.

Lance looked down at his lover who was sprawled across his lap. Keith had wanted to watch TV, but Lance knew that was just some lie so they could stay close together. The demon wasn’t even watching TV. He’d put it onto a Spanish soap opera and lied across Lance’s lap. Keith seemed to just want pats and attention from Lance.

“I’m okay.” Said Lance. “Like, just thinking about the situation with Shiro, Adam, and Curtis. Pretty messed up, right?”

“Yeah. It is.” Keith sighed a little and lightly picked at the threads on a couch cushion. “I um… I don’t know how Shiro is going to react. He’s so confused but it all, and I think that I made everything worse… I mean, Iscariots don’t like us, and Adam’s story made it sound like he was just using Shiro to run away. Like he was playing with Shiro’s emotions.” 

“I guess… But maybe he really does love him? I don’t know… Love can be complicated.”

“And he’s fucked Curtis. He admitted to that.”

“You can’t judge someone by who they willing fucked in the past.” 

“... I don’t trust Adam. He hurt Shiro really badly.”

“I know.” Lance ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. “I know you just want to protect him but he has his own decisions to make.”

“I know…” Keith sighed and closed his eyes. “I hate seeing Shiro like this… He was so happy before everything and I just… I hate not being able to do something. I hate being so powerless.”

“Same…” Lance sighed a little and gently pushed him. “Okay, time to get off me. I’m going down to the store to grab some things. I need to clear my head…”

Keith frowned a little and got off his lap. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Not today. I want to go by myself.” He gently kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “I’ll pick you and Shiro up some bones while I’m out. Okay?”

“Okay… Drive safely.”

Lance smiled a little and went out to his car. He got into the car and drove down to his old school. It was the end of the day and the teachers would be leaving soon. He waited around in the parking lot until Adam came out. He looked rough. Very rough.

When he saw Lance he looked very confused. He just looked at him oddly and walked over to him. “Lance?”

“Adam… I um, I wanted to talk to you about some stuff.”

“Is this going to be long?”

“It might be…”

Adam sighed a little and looked around. “... The cafe on campus will still be open. Come on.” The two of them got settled into the cafe with drinks in front of them. They awkwardly sat there, unable to look at each other in the eye. “Is this about Shiro?” Asked Adam. “Does he no longer want me in his life?”

“This isn’t about Shiro.” Said Lance. “He’s still trying to figure out what he wants… He’s very confused about everything. He’s been trying to get over you for centuries.”

“I know…” Adam frowned as he looked into his drink. “Maybe he’d be better off with another Manticore…”

“Eh, Shiro’s said male manticores are loners and the females will cannibalize males if they get too close to them outside of their breeding season.”

“... Right.”

Lance nodded and sipped his drink. “Okay, so when Curtis attacked us he did something to me that made me stop using my magic. I thought only Bob could do something like that.”

“Ah, so you’ve reached a god-like status already?”

“Yes. I don’t want god-like magic. I just want to be me. Being the Key for the gates of hell is bad enough already.”

“Yeah… Wait, you’re the Key?”

“Long story. But yeah, I can open the gates of heaven and hell if I want to.” Said Lance. “I want to find a way to stop that. When I lose control it gets really scary and that fear just exacerbates the issue… I just… I just want to be me…”

Adam nodded a little and he had a thoughtful look on his face. “... I think we can help each other.”

“How?”

“If you can somehow find a way for me sever my ties with the Iscariots I’ll tell you how to suppress your god-like powers.”

Lance shocked. “Really? You really want to leave the Iscariots?”

Adam nodded. “Yes… Lance, you haven’t been dealing with the supernatural for a very long time, have you?” Lance shook his head. “Thought as much… Here’s the thing, when it comes to the inhabitants of heaven and hell there is little to no difference. The only major one being that heaven does not care about things of earth while hell is curious. You get what I’m saying?”

“Not really…”

“... The Iscariots are no different to witch covens.” Said Adam. “Iscariots have sold their souls to their chosen heavenly body. Just like how witches sell their souls to demons. Each supernatural deity has a different way of leaving their little cult. Most would let go after death, but Lance, whatever thing the Iscariots have fallen in with is a disgusting, greedy, selfish monster. I have no idea how to sever my ties… If you can do that I’d do anything for you.”

“... So how the hell can I do that?”

Adam shrugged. “I don’t know… Maybe you have to be a god to do it? I don’t know.”

“... So I want a way to not be a god but to do it I have to be a god?”

“... I understand the stupidity of it, but I really don’t want to be an Iscariot anymore… I can’t keep living this cycle of pain…”

“I just have one question…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you actually love Shiro or were you using him to escape?” Asked Lance. “In your story it kind of sounded like you were just going with Shiro to escape. Like, you said you didn’t even care if he ate you…”

Adam looked shocked for a moment before he sighed sadly. “Yeah, I can see how bad it sounded… Look, it was very abridged the version I told you guys, but there was a lot more stuff going on behind the scenes… I am in love with Shiro. Even before I got my memories back I’ve been in love with him… I still love him… I just hope he can still love me.” The more he talked the more he slumped into his seat. “I should have just told him I was an Iscariot… He’s never going to want to see me again, will he?”

“Honestly, I don’t know… But um, I’m an empath and I haven’t felt anything like hate coming off of him. So that’s something?”

“... I guess so.” Adam sighed and finished his drink. “Please try and find something for me Lance. I’m desperate… I want to go back to Shiro looking at me like he loves me, and not like I’m a stranger.”

“... Okay, as long as you can do something to stop me from going all crazy and god-like, I’m willing to help.” They made an agreement and the two of them left. Adam wasn’t a bad person. This was all hitting him just as hard as it was hitting Shiro. That thought was depressing. They needed to do something to feel better. He just didn’t know what.

When Lance got back to his car, he found a woman with short blue hair resting against the hood of his car. As soon as she saw him she stood up and dusted off her ripped jeans. “You’re Lance McClain, correct?”

Lance’s heart immediately sunk. “And are you an angel, demon, or fae?”

“I’m a witch.”

“Cool. What do you want?” He didn’t really want to deal with this.

“My name is Acxa. I am part of Lotor’s coven and he asked me to extend help to you.”

Lance sighed and unlocked his car. “Look, I’m not a big fan of him, and considering what happened to his coven, I don’t think he really wants me around.”

“On the contrary.” Said Acxa. “The fact you, or at least your body, was able to absorb the Key and have no physical effects is a testament to your natural skill.” She removed a card out of her pocket and handed it to him. “I’m sure you know by now that Lotor has restarted and rebranded the old company after the death of his parents. Lotor prides himself on innovation and discarding the old practices that cause damage. Please take the card. It’s Lotor’s personal number.”

Lance took the card from her and looked down at the number on it. It didn’t even have a name. “... And why does he want to help me anyway?”

“The Iscariots have been more active in the area lately.” She said. “The only reason they would be here is if either something big was about to happen in the Fae community or if they wanted something to do with the hell gate.”

“Ah… I see… And what could Lotor do for me?”

Acxa’s mouth twitched slightly into a smile. “Well we all know that Hunk and Katie are just humans and don’t have much in the way of protecting themselves. The Iscariots are not above torture and human slaughter to get what they want. Ezor still has a soft spot for Katie.”

Lance was a little surprised. “Oh right, I keep forgetting she interned for you guys for a while.”

“Yeah. She did.” Said Acxa. “She is a very brilliant young woman and if she even wanted to intern with us again we would be more than happy to let her do that.”

“She’s happy doing other stuff.”

“Fair enough… Lotor would still like to talk to you if you would like.”

Lance nodded a little. “I see… So what’s his endgame?”

“Pardon?”

Lance sighed and leaned against his car door. “Look, someone like Lotor isn’t just doing this because he wants to. I highly doubt he has good intentions. He’ll want something from me. Nothing is free in the world of magic.”

Acxa looked like she was about to argue, but she stopped herself and nodded. “That is fair enough. Our standing in the magic community is shaky at best. We were surprised when we were invited to go to the meeting in the first place. We still aren’t sure if we actually have that much influence or if our old coven still has some weight. Lotor is trying to rebuild our standing in the fae community. What better way to do that then to get on the good side of the most powerful Warlock?”

“Understandable I guess…” Muttered Lance. It was a smart move for Lotor. Pretty much everyone knew Lance, and due to the reputation he allegedly gathered after he kind of took down the Diabazaal coven, Fae both respected and feared him. Due to his friendly nature people usually sided more with respect rather than fear. If Lotor managed to be seen as a friend or respected associate of Lance’s then he would be considered very influential too and his coven would be given even more status than before.

“It isn’t as if this arrangement wouldn’t be beneficial for both of us.” Said Acxa. “Even if you do not want us to keep an eye on your friends, we can offer you some magical assistance. The Marmora coven you usually deal with are okay, but they haven’t been around as long as we have. We have knowledge that they do not.”

A fortunate stroke of luck? Honey coated poison? Lance wasn’t sure. He just nodded. “I see… I’ll consider your offer if you guys can do something for me.”

“Yes?”

“I want everything you have about making pacts with demons to make covens.”

Acxa seemed a little surprised. “Oh? Okay? Um… We can deliver that information to you within the week. Is messenger bird okay?”

“That’s fine. See you around Acxa.” Lance got into his car and drove to the nearest grocery store. He bought some bones for Keith and Shiro… and a ridiculous amount of junk food for himself. He knew comfort eating wasn’t a good thing but damn it all he wanted to do something simple that will make him feel better.

***

When Lance came back, Keith was very happy to see him. Keith had been worried about Lance for a long time. Now he was worried about Shiro as well. He was also worried about Hunk and Pidge too. He was just worried about everyone, even though he tried not to show it. He hoped he was good at hiding his emotions. The last thing he needed was Lance to worry about him worrying about everyone else.

“Hey Lance. How was it?”

Lance gave him a confused look. “How was what? I just went out and got some stuff. Here.” He handed Keith a cow bone. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” Keith gnawed on it as he followed Lance to the kitchen. He watched as Lance put a second bone in the fridge and grabbed a box of something bright pink and something that looked like mud. He had no idea what it was.

He followed Lance back to the lounge room and watched as his boyfriend sat on the couch and started eating whatever it was. Keith sat on the ground next to him and chewed on his bone. Lance seemed happy enough. He glanced up at Lance a few times until Lance looked back at him.

“... It’s cake.” He said. Lance held out a yellow cake with bright pink icing. “Take it. It’s strawberry.”

Keith took the cake and sniffed it a few times. It smelled overly sweet, like sugar and didn’t really smell at all like real strawberries. He easily peeled off the icing layer of the cake. He was both surprised and kind of worried at how easily it peeled off. The cakes Hunk made didn’t have icing like this. He felt like his teeth were going to fall out it was so packed with sugar. The cake wasn’t much better. It was weird and filled with jam and cream.

Lance chuckled a little. “Not a fan?”

“Human food is weird. I think I’ll stick with meat…”

Lance laughed again, a little louder this time. It warmed Keith’s heart a little. “Yeah, well it isn’t as good as the food Hunk makes. But it’s nice enough. Good comfort food.”

“Comfort food?”

“Yeah. You know?”

Keith shook his head. “Enlighten me?”

“Oh, well comfort food is food you eat that you really like that makes you feel good.” Said Lance. “Usually something sweet, like cakes. That or like something salty and fried, like that chicken I gave you that one time.”

“That stuff that’s all crispy and crunchy?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s weird.”

Lance shrugged. “Well to you it is… Are there any foods you like eating? Stuff that makes you feel good when you do?”

Keith thought for a moment. “Thyroids. That are soft and fatty, but nice and bloody too. So better than just fat… The pancreas is nice too, but I really like entrails. Those are nice. They kind of remind me of those things… Um… Noodles? They remind me of those.”

Lance pulled a face and just nodded along. Clearly he didn’t seem to like the idea of eating entrails. Honestly, Keith felt kind of bad about it. Sure Lance said humans eat all kinds of things and he’d watched a few cooking shows with Hunk and people were cooking with all kinds of things. Lance still didn’t seem to approve of his eating habits. He would pull a disgusted face but wouldn’t say anything about it. Keith looked back gown at his bone and went back to gnawing it.

“... Yeah, anyway, that’s comfort food stuff. I’m eating to feel better.”

“... Can I make you feel better?”

“Unless you’re a strawberry or chocolate snack cake then that’s a no.”

“Oh…” Keith didn’t really know much about making humans feel better. Even after all this time on Earth. They only way he really knew how to make Lance feel good was sex, and if Lance wasn’t into it there really wasn’t much he could do. Maybe he should try making something for Lance? It shouldn’t be too hard to do. It was flour, sugar, eggs, and milk, right? He could do it. Maybe? 

“You okay there Keith?”

“Um, just wondering if you want more of those snack cake things?” Asked Keith. “Where do you get snack cakes from? Do you like the pink ones or the brown ones?”

Lance looked surprised for a moment before he chuckled and patted his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good. You don’t have to worry about me… I think you have to worry more about Shiro. Is he okay?”

“He’s been in the greenhouse for a few hours. I think he’s just drawing patterns in the sand?”

Lance nodded a little and ate another cake. “Maybe you should do something to cheer him up? I don’t really know what will make a manticore happy.”

Keith nodded in agreement and wondered what he could do to make Shiro feel better. “... Shiro’s a Manticore… He likes open plains and savanna areas. Sand is nice too… Do you have any ideas?”

Lance thought for a moment and took out his phone. “Hmmm…”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m texting Allura to see if there is some kind of fae resort we can go to for a few days, or to see if it’s cheaper to buy my own island. I keep forgetting I literally have fuck you money.”

“Fuck you money?”

“It means I have so much money I can decide if I want my new summer mansion to be on a private island in the Carribean or if I want it somewhere in Indonesia.”

Keith didn’t understand what those were or if it made much of a difference. “That’s pretty cool I guess?”

“Yeah.” Lance kept scrolling through his phone. “Which one is the one that has all the volcanoes?”

“Volcanoes? Volcanoes are fun.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Really? You want volcanoes? Alright, I’ll look for volcanoes.”

“... Humans don’t like volcanoes?”

“Nope. Well, we have a love hate relationship with them. We hate them because they can, have, and will fucking kill us… However the soil around volcanoes is always really good for growing plants.”

“Ah, okay… So no volcanoes?”

“Does Shiro like volcanoes?”

“Kind of…”

Lance nodded and continued his search. “Okay. I’ll keep looking. You just keep chewing that bone.”

“Okay…” Keith kept chewing on it. He really wished he was able to do something more for everyone. Maybe if he had some money? How did humans get money? He would have to think about this.


	18. So he bought an island...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title pretty much says it all. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Pidge took a long, slow sip of her coffee. _“Okay… Let me see if I got this right… Shiro’s reasonably upset about the Adam thing?”_

Lance nodded. “Yep.”

_“So you, in your infinite wisdom, bought an island.”_

“Yep.”

_“In the middle of the Caribbean?”_

“Yep.”

_“And now you three are on said island in the Caribbean?”_

“Yep.”

_“How is any of that a sane or logical thought progression?!”_

“It was logical at the time.” Whined Lance. “Look, next time you and Hunk have holidays I’ll take you to my island. That is assuming we don’t destroy the whole thing while we’re here. Any other questions?”

_“Yeah, why the fuck is there this new door in the hallway? Like I swear I can hear the ocean behind it… I swear to fuck if you buying a house automatically links the mansion to it like some kind of fucking up videogame hub world I will kick your ass!”_

“...Gotta go. Bye.” Lance quickly hung up and leaned against the balcony.

He managed to buy a relatively small island with a house already on it. Lance has a sneaking suspicion that it used to be a drug lord’s house or something. He didn’t know. From the balcony Lance could see Shiro and Keith walking along the beach. They were talking about something but Lance couldn’t tell what it was. They were too far away.

Maybe this was a bit much? He’d bought the island on a whim just because he could and it might make Shiro feel a little better. He really had too much money to know what to do with it. He probably should start giving it away on mass to charities or something to that effect. He just… He just didn’t know how to do so. Well he kind of did, but he didn’t, and that coupled with his own mental problems he just felt nothing. It was stupid. He was stupid.

Lance sighed and closed his eyes as he breathed in the sea air. He missed going to the beach. He missed Cuba. He would have suggested that they all head down to Cuba, but then he’d have to meet up with his family and he’d be talked into staying with his family… Shiro wouldn’t have been able to relax in his manticore form… It would have been a mess.

He closed his eyes for a moment and walked down to the beach. The sand was warm and felt nice against his feet. He sat in the sand and watched the waves. He felt empty again. Why couldn’t he do this? Why couldn’t he just be normal?

He heard Keith squwaking and looked over to see Keith flat on his back. It looked like Shiro had knocked him over with his tail. It made Lance chuckle a little. He was glad they still seemed to get along really well. Maybe Keith would stay in Shiro’s nest again tonight and for the next few nights to come?

That was fine. Lance knew Shiro needed Keith right now to help him in this confusing time. Lance would just have to be content with bunking with his sleep paralysis demon. It just didn’t go away and if he was honest, it had gotten worse since he was sleeping alone.

It crawled into the nest and whispered into his ear. Always demanding that Lance just die and let him have his body. Its fingers always ghosting over his skin. Always threatening him with physical violence. He was getting sick of it and starting to question if he had developed some form of schizophrenia. That would be annoying. He lied back on the sand and sighed loudly. He really just wished his mind could work normally.

***

Keith quickly dusted himself off and went back to walking along with Shiro. The Manticore hummed softly and slowly swished his tail. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to knock you over.”

“It’s whatever.” Reassured Keith. “So do you like it?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. The sand is nice… Not too sure about the ocean though…”

“Yeah… Fuck the ocean.” Muttered Keith. There were far too many weird things in the oceans in hell. Keith didn’t trust the oceans on earth. They would probably get eaten by some creepy sea monster. Death by drowning was not the way he wanted to go.

“Yeah I-oh!” Both demons looked down in time to see a small crab quickly scuttling by and into a little hole in the sand. “Crab.”

“Crab.” Keith crouched down next to the little crab hole and poked at it. Seconds later he got a very nasty pinch when the crab nipped him. He swore and inadvertently flung the crab across the beach. “... I don’t know what I was expecting.”

“Neither do I.” Shiro pawed at the ground a few times, pushing the damp sand past his metal claws. “... I wish I could feel the sand between my paws. This just… I feel so detached from everything.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling…”

“Hmm?”

Keith shrugged. “Well I’ve always known I’m part demon, part human, so I’ve always felt a little weird just being in hell and doing hell stuff… But I’m meant to be an angel too? I don’t really know how I’m meant to function. Like… I feel like there is this weird distance between me and everyone else.”

“Maybe you should talk to Lance about that?”

Keith shook his head. “I can’t… I love Lance too much to make him worry about me. He has so much stuff going on in his own life, he doesn’t need me to add to that.”

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “You shouldn’t keep yourself. You’re just going to make him feel worse when he finds out.”

“... I know. I just want him to feel good about himself.” Said Keith quietly. He looked back and saw Lance laying on the beach in the sun. He looked so at home on the beach. It made him smile a little, but at the same time it kind of hurt because he knew that Lance was really hurting deep down inside and he couldn’t fix it. He felt like he should. He wanted to. He really did.

Didn’t angels have healing powers of some sort? If he could just lay his hands on Lance and heal him things would be so good. Was it possible to even use those kinds of powers? Maybe? He wasn’t sure. He wished he could. If he could just put his hands on Lance and bring the light back to his eyes it would be perfect. He could just fix him.

“... You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.” Keith sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay, let’s just… Fuck, we came here for you. We want you to feel better so like just… Just feel better already.” He lightly punched Shiro’s arm.

The Manticore looked at where Keith had hit him and sighed. “You’re really bad at comforting people. You know that, right?”

“I’m doing my best here…”

“I know.” Shiro gently nudged Keith, almost knocking him over again. “I’m going to walk a little inland to see what I can see. You go and be nice to Lance.” He nudged him again and headed inland. He pushed the palm trees out of the way with his bulky frame, knocking a few coconuts down as he did.

When Shiro was gone Keith walked back towards Lance. He was still flat on his back and looking up at the sky. He crouched down next to his lover and lightly touched his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Lance pointed up at the sky. “That cloud looks like a rabbit. What do you think?”

Keith looked up at the sky and tried to see what Lance was seeing. He just saw a white blob. “... Yeah. I guess it does… You were on the phone with someone, right?”

“Pidge.” Said Lance. He sat up and smiled softly at Keith, though his eyes were tired. “She’s not happy that I’m turning the house into a hub world.”

“A what?”

“Um, you started playing Spyro, right? Well a hub world is the world that has all the portals and stuff in it that you use to jump into different worlds.” Explained Lance. “It’s like we went from the dragon’s main world to like the beach zone or something.”

Keith nodded along to the explanation. That kind of made sense, but he didn’t really think that they were turning the estate into some kind of hub world. Like, what places could they travel to in the house to begin with? There was the gate of hell in the basement and now this. Was Pidge actually mad that they could go to an island now?

After a beat of silence Lance reached over and squeezed Keith’s hand. “Is Shiro okay?”

“Yeah, he’s content with everything so far I guess… He’s probably gone to find a sunny spot to sleep on for a while.”

“Okay… Want to go snorkeling?”

“What’s that?”

Lance grinned and quickly got up, pulling Keith along with him. “It’ll be fun.”

Keith did not think this was fun at all. Lance managed to wrangle him into things called flippers and ridiculous red swimming trunks. Then he made him wear goggles with a tube sticking out of it. Lance called it scuba gear to help him breathe and see underwater. Keith thought it was dumb because it was just salt water. It wasn’t like it was going to damage his eyes or anything. Plus he could hold his breath for a few hours. The snorkel stuff was dumb.

Lance led Keith out to a small reef and grinned. “You ready to see some cool fish?”

“... Lance, I’m not a huge fan of the sea.”

“Well it’s not like we’re going into open water, so like, whatever.” He got into the water and tried to get Keith to follow him. “Come on Keith. It’ll be fun. I promise.”

Keith didn’t think it would be as fun as Lance said it would be, but he did it anyway. He needed to make Lance feel better. He needed to make Shiro feel better. He had to put everyone’s comfort above himself if they had any chance of getting better. He wanted everyone to just be happy.

Lance grinned and held Keith’s hand when he got into the water with him. “Awesome. Now come and look at the fish with me.” He put on his goggles and dived under the water.

Keith just slowly paddled after him doing a kind of weird doggy paddle. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but it was good enough for him to follow Lance around as he looked at fish. Keith was doing his best to make sure that Lance didn’t end up going into deep water by accident. As long as he stayed in the reef it would be fine.

Lance managed to show Keith a few fish and some interesting coral that he thought was pretty neat. When Lance was done swimming around, the pair found themselves in the shallows. Lance was washing some of the sand off himself while Keith was taking handfuls of wet sand and throwing it back into the sea.

“So… You and Shiro gonna sleep in a nest tonight?” Asked Lance.

Keith shrugged. “Probably. I mean, if he asks I will… Why?”

“You’ve just been sleeping in the same nest for a few days.” Said Lance. “... I’m a little lonely without you around, but I get it. Shiro needs someone, and that someone is you. He needs his littermate and I… I’m okay with sleeping alone for a few more weeks.”

Another stab of guilt hit Keith hard in the chest. Lance needed him too, even at night. He had that sleep paralysis thing going on too didn’t he? He couldn’t be in two places at once. Maybe they could start sharing the same nest again? That could be a good start.

“H-how about I make a nest for all three of us?” Asked Keith. “It’ll be nice. Just like old times?”

Lance seemed a little surprised, but he smiled and nodded anyway. “Yeah. That would be nice. This place is fully furnished anyway, so there’s lots of materials you can use, if you want?”

Keith smiled a little. “Yeah. thanks. I’ll go and start doing that.” He got out of the shallows and walked towards the beach house. Keith was going to do his damndest to make the best nest he possibly could for all three of them.

***

By the time night had rolled around Keith had felt like he had built the best looking nest he could with the tools he had. He was doing his best and managed to turn an entire room into a nest. He thought he had done a decent job. He liked how everything was put into the right place to make it just right. Shiro would like it and so would Lance. Maybe. In the nest he and Lance shared, Keith had put a few very specific objects into their nest to make it smell more like them.

He flopped right in the middle of the nest and let out a big sigh. He was done and everyone would like it. Maybe now he could take a few minutes to have a quick nap? That would be nice. But alas, Lance quickly walked in and let out a low whistle.

“Nice work. You did well.” He climbed into the nest and laid down next to him.

“Thanks. By the way there is no longer a mattress in any of the bedrooms.”

“Figured as much.”

Shiro walked into the room looking kind of surprised. “So, apparently there are mer’s living around here.”

“Really?” Asked Lance. “Where?”

“There’s a small lagoon over the other side of the island. Some mers were just swimming around… I didn’t talk to them but I saw them and they saw me. It was interesting.” Shiro got into the nest and made himself comfortable. “Nice nest.”

“Thanks.” Keith walked over to Shiro and started to run his claws through his mane. His thick black coat was beautiful. To Keith it always felt like he was running his fingers through the starless sky. It was mesmerizing. “... You have sand in your mane.”

“We’re on an island.”

“I know.” He continued to groom Shiro, watching him with soft eyes. He seemed to relax a little, which was good. Shiro needed to relax and feel good. He didn’t need to have all that unneeded stress. He didn’t need Adam in his life. Adam was a jerk. Shiro needed to cut him out of his life completely.

Shiro hummed softly and stretched out in the nest. “So what did you two get up to?”

“Lance wanted to swim in the ocean.” Said Keith. “I hated it.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” Whined Lance. “We saw some cool fish!”

“Well yeah, but no.” Muttered Keith. “I still don’t like the ocean. It’s weird and I hate it… Some of the fish in hell are just… They just… It’s not fun. I’ll tell you that much. It’s safer to swim in lakes and stuff.” He leaned against Shiro’s side and reached out for Lance.

His boyfriend smiled at him and sat down next to him against Shiro. The Manticore made a pleased rumbling in his chest and loosely curled around them. Almost protectively. It made Keith feel safe. He hoped it made everyone else feel safe. It made him feel safe enough. Shiro was like a big weighted blanket.

***

Lance was kind of excited that there were mermaids around. He’d go and do some mermaid hunting tomorrow. Maybe he should go back to the house and bring them some gemstones or something? Did he even have gemstones to give away? He didn’t even know. It would still be fun to try and talk to them.

“You think we could look for the merpeople tomorrow?” He asked Shiro.

“Sure. I’ll show you where I saw them.”

Lance grinned and looked over at Keith. “We’ll get to see some more merpeople. You think Hunk and Pidge would like to see them?”

Keith shrugged. “Sure. Just gotta make sure they are awake though because you know, time zones and stuff. Aren’t they like, two hours behind us now or something?”

“Yeah… We can still ask them tomorrow.” Said Lance. “It’ll be fun… They might walk through the door or something and end up here.”

“Yeah.” Keith yawned and closed his eyes, snuggling up to him. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Okay?”

“Okay.” He leaned against Shiro’s side and tried to sleep. He felt a little safer sleeping with Shiro. Then again who wouldn’t? He was a Manticore. He could straight up murder whoever he wanted. Maybe being here would help stop his sleep paralysis?”

_“Give it back.”_

Nope. The sleep paralysis demon was still there. It looked like it was crawling over Shiro just to get to him. It still looked as fucked up as ever. It seemed more aggravated than usual. Maybe it was because of the new location? He had no idea. It was so weird.

_“GIVE. IT. BACK.”_

Lance just looked at it as it glared at him. Its fingers were twitching like they were just itching to try and grab hold of him. But he couldn’t. That wasn’t how the sleep paralysis demon thing worked. 

If Lance could roll his eyes he would. This thing was more annoying than creepy at the moment. He just wanted it to go away. What would it take for it to go away? Maybe a very heavy blow to the head would do it? Maybe… Maybe he could ask Shiro to punch him right in the face? That might do it.

 _“Stop ignoring me.”_ Growled the demon. _“Just give it back. Do you think you deserve to live? You should have died that night. Your body split open and spilled out on the floor. You should be dead. You should have never been born.”_

This was a new tactic that this thing was using now. It was starting to whisper to him and make him feel like shit, which just made him upset in the morning. Not a fun thing. He’d gone from a relatively okay morning person to someone who hates waking up.

 _“They didn’t want five children.”_ Whispered the thing. _“Your mother only wanted one more. Your father wanted one more. They wanted another girl. They got another girl. Rachel. She was perfect. You were a surprise. You just weren’t absorbed by your sister in the womb. Even before you were born things were taking pity on a parasite like you.”_

Lance sighed heavily through his nose and just took it. There wasn’t much he could do. He did try and reach over towards Keith in his sleep to try and wake him up. Sadly he never could. The cycle continued.


	19. Comfort food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith participates in capitalism... and butchery... also merpeople. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When his friends found out about there being merpeople on Lance’s island the next day, the duo was extremely excited about seeing them. After all, mermaids were one of the most famous sea creatures in the world. Pidge had her camera and so did Hunk.

“Do you think we’ll actually see them?” Asked Pidge. “Will they try and enchant us with their voices and drown us?”

“Those are sirens.” Corrected Shiro.

She waved him off. “Close enough. So where are they?”

Shiro chuckled a little at her eagerness. “Just over this hill.” The Manticore walked over the hill and showed them the lagoon. It was small and looked very nice. Lance thought that maybe he could get Keith used to swimming in the ocean if they swam in here. That was if the merpeople were okay with it. He kind of felt like they technically owned the lagoon, even if Lance owned the island.

After a few minutes there was a splash and the group saw a pair of curious eyes looking up at them. Lance, being the ever so sociable one of the group crouched down by the water’s edge and smiled at them.

“Hey there. I’m Lance. This is Shiro, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk.” He said. “We kind of bought the island. Who are you?”

They bubbled a little under the water before they fully moved their head out of the water. They looked like they might be female. “Hi. I’m Plaxum. Nice to meet you. So what are you all? I can already tell one of you is a manticore.”

“Yeah. That’s Shiro.” Said Lance. He pointed at Keith. “Keith’s a Sin-Eater. Hunk and Pidge are normal humans, and I am a Warlock.”

“Huh. Interesting… So you just introducing yourself to the neighbours?” She asked.

Lance nodded. “Yep. We’re all friendly here. No need to like, try and drown us or anything.”

She giggled. “Ah, you’re funny. I’ll let the others know you guys are friendly… By the way, there is some interesting junk down here.”

“Like what?” Asked Pidge.

Plaxum grinned and drived under the water. A few minutes later she came up with a string of pearls and a few jewels. “This stuff. There’s a whole box of this junk in here.”

“... Is that pirate treasure?” Asked Hunk. “Did a pirate bury treasure here or with this island some drug lord’s island and now they are going to come back and shoot us for it?”

“Nope.” Said Plaxum. “We sometimes find this shiny junk in the ocean and bring it here when we don’t know what to do with it. It’s important to humans, right?”

“What do you want for them?” Asked Pidge.

Plaxum hummed for a second. “Ummm… I want… Bones. Land bones.” 

“Why?” Asked Hunk in a slightly worried tone.

“Land bones make the best tools.” She said. “If you can bring me some land bones I’ll give you the shiny things that we can’t use. Sound fair?”

“Sure.” Said Lance. “Keith and Shiro kind of eat bones, but we can get some bones for you.”

Plaxum grinned and made an excited trill. “Thanks. Pleasure doing business with you Lance. My friends Swirn and Blumfump come here and you can give bones with them. Blumfump has four arms. He’s kind of a deepsea mer and Swirn has a lot of markings on her arms. She also likes wearing golden bangles so she’s pretty easy to spot.”

“Neat. Nice to meet you again Plaxum.”

“Nice to meet you guys too. Feel free to swim in the lagoon if you like.” She said. “But if you guys try to take the treasure without giving us bones you can’t get it. It’s hidden behind some razor sharp coral. It will cut you up pretty badly.”

Pidge pouted a little. “Damn… Okay… Can I get a few photos of you?”

Plaxum shook her head. “Sorry but Queen Luxia probably wouldn’t want us getting our photos taken.”

“Oh, I met her.” Said Lance. “She’s pretty cool. Queen of the Pacific ocean, right?”

The mermaid nodded. “Yep. Though she’s just being humble. She technically rules the whole ocean.”

“That’s pretty cool.” Said Hunk. “Um, if we can’t get a full body picture can we get a picture of your tail? It looks really beautiful.”

Hearing that made Plaxum blush. “Aw you’re sweet. You sweet talk all the girls like that?”

Hunk went bright red and laughed awkwardly. “Oh um… I um… I already have a girlfriend…”

Pidge and Lance chuckled a little when they heard that. Apparently Hunk was more of a flirt than he thought he was. It was kind of cute really. It was almost endearing how the poor sweet cinnamon roll just did that. They talked to Plaxum for a few more hours before she eventually decided it was time to leave.

“That was so cool!” Said Pidge. “I can’t believe you have an island with merpeople and pirate treasure… You have some weird warlock luck I swear!”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I do?”

Keith frowned a little and kicked a crab into the lagoon. “So… are we going to trade bones with them or something?”

Lance shrugged. “If you guys want to you can. Pretty sure you could sell it if you know the right people. Could make a lot of money that way.”

“We’d probably have to talk to Coran about that.” Said Pidge. “He’d probably know some black market dealer that would love to take human treasure.”

***

Keith saw an opportunity to make some money so he could buy more comfort food for Lance. He’d just have to keep the bones of his food from now on. Shouldn’t be that difficult to do. He’d just need to figure out what bones they liked the most. 

He watched Hunk and Pidge quickly running along the lagoon and collecting shells. Shiro seemed to be distracted by seagulls and was quietly stalking them. Lance was still crouched down by the water’s edge where Plaxum was. He crouched down next to Lance.

“... Hey Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“You know how you’ve been teaching me how to read English?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you teach me numbers? Like how do you write numbers and stuff?”

Lance seemed a little surprised, but he smiled and moved a little away from the water’s edge and started to write a bunch of symbols into the ground. “Okay, so here we have 0, then, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.” Said Lance. “You can use your fingers to count.”

“But I have ten fingers?”

“Well yeah, but once you know 0-9 you can write any number.” Said Lance. He drew a 1 and 0 close together in the sand. “That’s how you write 10.”

“I see…” Keith kind of got it. “So does everyone on earth use this number system?”

“No. Some other countries use a different number system, but this one is pretty much universal. So anyway, the more numbers there are the higher the number is.”

“How high do numbers go?”

“They are kind of infinite.”

“... Wow.”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah. I was never really good at maths. This is why I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. I have to teach them really simple and basic maths. So we can just stick to the basic stuff for now. Okay?”

Keith nodded and let Lance continue to teach him. He kind of understood what Lance was talking about. He just really wanted to know how numbers worked so maybe he could sell some of the shiny things. That sounded like a normal thing to do, right?

***

Three days after the group had met Plaxum, Lance needed to go down to the basement to find one of the many charger cords she had. When he got down there he had to take pause when he saw something that definitely shouldn’t be there. He turned heel and went to look for Keith.

The demon was playing Tekken with Hunk. Lance waited for them to finish before he spoke up. “Keith.”

“Yes?”

“I have a question for you that I am pretty sure only you can answer.”

“Yeah?”

“What the fuck is there a fat, unconscious, middle aged neckbeard tied up in the basement?” Asked Lance. Hunk looked mildly horrified while Keith just looked nervous.

“Um… So you up for another round Hunk?” Asked Keith, quickly trying to deflect.

Lance wasn’t having it. “Keith. The fuck?”

Keith sighed loudly. “Okay, fine. I was kind of hungry, but not that hungry. When I was hunting for humans I went and decided to shrink down and go after some peadophiles. I was hoping for something less fatty but I found him. He called me a lolly? I didn’t get it. So I knocked him the fuck out and now he’s in the basement.”

“... Is he still alive?” Asked Hunk.

“Yep.”

“That’s kidnapping.” Said Lance. “I don’t want you kidnapping any random people. Also, I’m pretty sure he meant lolli, which is short for lollicon. I think it means little girl or something like that? It’s a Japanese thing, but most people kind of just call them pedophiles. Just talk to Pidge about it. She knows more about anime than me.”

“Ah. okay.” Keith went back to promptly ignoring him and trying to start another game, but Lance quickly took the remote off him. 

“No. Bad man eating demon. You go and get rid of the neckbeard before he wakes up. I don’t want him in the house anymore. Get rid of him. Okay? I don’t care how you do it as long as the body is not there and there is no blood anywhere. Got it?”

Keith grumbled and got off the couch and headed to the basement to get rid of the body. Lance just shook his head and sunk into the couch. He was annoyed that Keith brought someone back home. He had already told both Keith and Shiro not to bring home any human body parts. Was Keith trying to circumnavigate his very simple request?

“Is there really a body in the basement?” Asked Hunk.

Lance nodded. “Yep… You know, I find it really weird that I am more upset that Keith kidnapped a human rather than just eating them… Also I still don’t know if I should be upset that he’s killing and eating people since he’s a demon and he eats sexually perverse predators… His diet is conflicting…”

Hunk nodded in agreement. “Yeah… That is… You think the police will come by?”

“Only if Keith was a moron then probably.” Muttered Lance. “Fuck, I hope no police come by… I don’t want to be an accomplice to murder… Even though we all technically are… Oh shit, what if Keith got sent to jail?”

Hunk looked like he was going to pass out. “Oh boy… Even if Keith didn’t kill anyone if he just pointed to someone and called them out everyone would murder them. You know how they treat sex offenders in prison…”

“It would be a massacre.” Muttered Lance. “One hell of a massacre… I hope Keith doesn’t make a mess of the place…” They heard a loud series of thumps as Keith dragged the body out of the basement and down the hallway. All the while he was grunting and complaining at the man’s weight. They heard a door swing open and the sound of seagulls before it swung closed again. “... Is he dumping the neckbeard out in the middle of the ocean?”

“Sounds like it.” Muttered Hunk. “Well now I am scared for life. Again. Want to play Tekken with me?”

“Sure.” Lance quickly grabbed the controller and started another round.

***

Keith ended up dragging the neckbeard down to the lagoon and started to rip apart the fat bastard’s stomach. The man was alive, but not for too much longer as Keith quickly pulled out his internal organs. A lot of the blood and some entrails spilled into the water. Essentially chumming the water.

After a few minutes of this a mer made herself known and pulled herself out of the water next to Keith. Her tail was yellow and had pink stripes. “What are you doing?” She asked.

Keith raised an eyebrow and started to carefully carve the fat and meat off his thigh. “Plaxum said I could trade land bones for human shinys here. So I brought you an entire skeleton… It just has a bit of meat in the way…”

“A I see… I’m Florona.”

“Keith.” He quickly stripped the meat from femur and held it out to her. “What will you give for this?”

She thought for a moment before she quickly dived under the water and came back out with a few colourful stones. “Here. You like this stuff?”

“Yeah.” Keith handed over the bone to her and collected the gems. There were some blue ones, green ones, a white one, and clear ones. He moved them away to a safer spot further up the beach. Just to make sure that Florona didn’t take them back. He continued to slowly debone the human and giving the bones over to the mer who would then go and get him shiny things.

In the end he had a small pile of shiny rocks, gold chains, and gold discs. Florona was very happy with her new bone pile. She made a happy sound and tapped some of the bones together. “Nice. Thank you so much. Bring us some more bones and we’ll give you more shiny things.”

“Thanks… You um, you want the meat?”

She shrugged. “Might as well. It’ll just attract gulls.”

“Okay. Have fun with that.” Keith collected his shiny things and walked back to the house. When he got back he started to walk back to the nest. “Got rid of the pedo guy!” He called as he walked up the stairs.

“Cool!” Called Lance. “Don’t bring home your food again!”

“Okay!”

When Keith got back to the nest he climbed into it and spread out his collection of shiny things. He didn’t really know what to do with it and started to separate them into groups via colour. He had nice piles of green, blue, red, and gold. He felt proud of himself. He probably had enough shiny things to buy Lance some comfort food.

Pidge knocked on the door and looked in. “Oh hey. I thought you were Lance for a second. Was gonna ask if he found the charger cord.”

Keith nodded a little as he pushed his shiny things around. “Well he’s down in the lounge room.”

“Okay… Where did you get the treasure from?”

“...” Keith leaned over his pile of treasure in a protective manner. “I have the mers a pedophile’s bones.”

“I see… What did you get?”

“Shiny things.”

“Let me see… I won’t take it okay?” Keith grumbled and reluctantly moved back to let Pidge look at them. She hummed a little as she looked at the piles. “Gold, opals, sapphires, jade, pearls, ruby… and I think that’s tiger’s eye? Damn… What are you going to do with all this?”

Keith shrugged. “Sell it and buy comfort food for Lance.”

She looked at him like he was an idiot. “Seriously? You’re going to use it on food? For Lance?”

“Comfort food.” Corrected Keith. “Lance has been feeling pretty bad so I want to make him feel better… I don’t think pushing him to have sex is a good idea. Even if he really likes the fact I have no gag reflex-”

“TMI.” Cringed Pidge.

“-I just want to make Lance feel good. He said he likes comfort food so I want to get him comfort food.”

Pidge nodded a little. “You know, if you keep feeding Lance cake and junk like that he’s gonna get fat.”

“... Lance would be cute with some pudge.”

“Oh lord. You know you could probably buy a snack cake factory with all this stuff.”

“Really?”

“Don’t. Lance will get mad at you.”

“...” Keith frowned and ran his fingers through the large pile of emeralds. “So… How do I change this shiny stuff into human money?”

She shrugged. “Something about Coran helping you find a pawn shop or something? I have no idea… Want to go and see Coran and see how much money we can get out of this?”

Keith nodded and grabbed his backpack to put all the shiny things into. “Yeah. sounds good.”

Pidge grabbed Keith’s arm and dragged him out of the house. She grabbed some keys out of the key bowl. “Later losers. Keith and I are going shopping. You sluts want anything? And by sluts I mean Lance and Shiro. Hunk you’re still perfect.”

“Aw, thanks!” Called Hunk. “I’m good!”

“This slut’s fine!” Called Lance. “Have fun! Be safe! Don’t do drugs!”

“Boo, you whore!” Whined Pidge. “Hunk I’m borrowing your car!” She and Keith left the house and left the house. Keith really hoped that Pidge wasn’t pulling his leg and he actually had enough shiny things to buy comfort food for Lance. He wanted Lance to be happy.

***

They went to visit Coran and he directed them to a pawn shop in arguably the more seedy part of the city. According to him the guy that ran it had two names. His human name, Vince, and his species name, Unilu. For some reason he seemed like using his species name and kept whatever his true name was a secret. Keith knew immediately what he was. They were a four armed race or traders and pirates. They liked acquiring, trading and selling goods. By any means necessary. Usually with knives.

When they entered the pawn shop it just looked like a regular pawn shop. The owner, Vince perked up a little when he saw them and raised an eyebrow. But he quickly put on his best salesperson face.

“Hey there. Vince here. You two looking to buy something? If you are I’m pretty sure you two ain’t looking for the legal stuff.”

Pidge put her hand up to quiet him. “Save it Vince. Coran said you might be able to help us out.”

“Coran? Who is this Coran you speak of.”

“You’re a Unilu.”

Vince frowned a little and gestured for them to move in a little closer as he whispered. “Advertise it to the whole block why don’t you? So you folks aren’t the garden variety morons I usually deal with. You got something interesting for me?”

Pidge reached into Keith’s bag and pulled out a gold coin, flicking it at him. “Treasure. A crap ton of it.”

Vince grabbed the coin and quickly looked it over. Instantly his eyes lit up. “Huh, a solid cold doubloon. Minted around… I’d say… 1673?” They quickly looked around and gentured for them to follow him behind the counter and into the back room. When they got there Vince dropped his human disguise. His skin was purple and his bulging eyes were green. “Okay, how did you guys get this?”

Pidge shrugged. “That’s for us to know and you to find out. We have more where that came from. What will you give us for it?”

Vince thought for a moment. “Well it all depends. You two just carrying gold or you got more?”

After that Keith stepped back and let Pidge negotiate as best as she could. She was really, really good at it. The thing about the Unilu that most people didn’t realise is that they loved shiny things above all else no matter its actual monetary value. They prefered coins over the paper money people had. 

After haggling with Vince for what seemed like forever the demon handed fough big stacks of paper money over to Pidge who tipped out the the contents of Keith’s bag onto the table. Vince looked extremely happy as he quickly trabbed the coins and jewels with his many arms.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” He said. “Come back anytime.”

Pidge put the money into Keith’s bag and they left. When they left the building she let out a sigh. “Wow… Pretty sure he undercut us by a lot, but we have way more than enough for those snack cakes you want to get.”

“You sure we have enough?” Asked Keith.

“Bitch we have more than enough. Just let me handle the money for the moment.” She thought for a moment and grinned. “You ever heard of a magical thing called Costco?”

***

Lance was just about to voice his concern about Pidge and Keith not being home yet when Pidge kicked the front door open. “We’re back! We went to Costco! Bought a lot of shit! You better appreciate this Lance!”

Hunk and Lance shared confused looks and quickly went to investigate. Pidge and Keith were pushing in several large cargo boxes full of who knows what since they were all pretty much blank. Keith seemed quite pleased with himself.

“... What did you guys do?” Asked Hunk.

Pidge shrugged. “Short version? Keith traded a pedo’s bones for treasure. He traded treasure for money. He traded money for all the snack cakes we could fit in Hunk’s car.”

“But why?” Asked Lance.

“Comfort food.” Said Keith. “You said comfort food makes you feel better so I got you comfort food. Be happy.” He pushed one of the crates towards Lance, smiling happily at him. While the gesture was very, very sweet, Lance had no idea how he was going to get rid of that much junk food.


	20. Honey and Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dates, as in the fruit. Not the activity. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance sighed a little as he sat on his throne made of snack cake boxes in his bedroom. Keith was just… He went a little overboard, and by little, he meant a lot. Lance was pretty sure all the snack cakes was going to spoil before anyone could eat them. At least snack cakes were something everyone could eat. Though he did have a long talk with Pidge about the dangers of letting Keith go to Costco.

With a small hum, Lance flipped through a book until he heard a light tap at the window. He looked over and saw a bird. It looked very similar to the Diabazaal bird with its off face mask and dark feathers. But the scrawling on its mask looked very intricate. 

Without thinking Lance flipped the window open and watched the bird hop inside. It sat on the bedside table for a few moments before it vanished in a puff of smoke. It left behind a pile of paper and a letter in a purple envelope.

He picked up the envelope and looked it over. It looked very fancy and even had a golden seal stamped on the back. This was probably a letter from Lotor. He opened it up and looked at the strange loopy silver lettering on the aged yellow paper.

_To Lance;_   
_I hope this letter finds you well. As per your request we have compiled all the information on covens we could find. I hope that this is what you need. Please feel free to ask if there is anything you wish to clarify. Acxa left you with my business card, but in case you lost it I have inclosed another one. I would enjoy seeing you again. I have a lot to discuss with you if you have the time._   
_Best regards, Lotor._

Lance looked inside the envelope and sure enough there was a business card in there with Lotor’s number on it. He stuffed the letter back into the envelope and sat back in his throne to look over the rest of the papers while he ate his snack cakes.

_Packs between humans and more powerful beings can be initiated in one of two ways; a human summons a demon, or a demon approaches a human. Usually if a supernatural being approaches a human to make a pack it will involve sex (gaining power through bloodlines). If humans approach the entity it will more than likely involve sacrifices (gaining power through blood)._

_It is important to note that there is a distinct difference between gaining power through bloodlines and gaining power through blood. All things can gain power through blood by sacrifices. However this power usually dwindles extremely quickly and isn’t advised for long term. Power through bloodlines is better for maintaining power._

_It is important to note that there is an unspoken rule of magic that underlines all things. It is given many names and can have many different rules and logic depending on the situation. But in its most basic form there is always a give and take. Some might be more comfortable with the notion of karma. Some also prescribe to the rule of 3. Which means, what you put out will come back to you times three._

_However, it is important to note that when a human gets attached to a powerful entity things can be very, very dangerous. If the entity is kind or indifferent then there is generally no problem, however if they are malevolent then things can get really awful for all humans involved._

Lance frowned a little as he thought about all this. It seemed like covens were just more trouble than they were worth. It made Lance question why anyone would do it to begin with. Making deals with gods was just too dangerous. He kept reading.

_Is there anyway to break a pact with an entity? There are several ways depending on the entity. If the creature exists on a different plane than the way to break the pact is usually very simple. The entity would more than likely be using a conduit of some sort. Anything from a mirror to a statue. Destroying it would destroy the connection between them and their coven._

_If the coven was made through blood, then the effects would be immediate. Pact through bloodlines would take many years of the connection severed before magic starts to dissipate. Blood covens need to have a connection to a powerful deity. A blood coven is a dangerous coven when they lose their deity._

Hearing that made Lance question the Diabazall coven. He wondered if they were bloodline or just blood covens. He’d ask Krolia or Kolivan the next time he saw them. He hoped that they would tell him. Though he had a sneaking suspicion that the Marmora coven might have been more of a bloodline coven since Krolia was beast-blooded. She had to have some kind of demon blood in her and it had to have come from somewhere.

Also, to help Adam out did this mean he was going to have to start taking a hammer to a bunch of Jewish, Islamic, and Christian, religious artifacts? There’s no way he’d ever get arrested for smashing all that stuff up. Yeah.

He frowned a little and put the papers away on his desk. This had given him a lot to think about. He unwrapped another snack cake and ate it. He was starting to become comfortable with his new life as king of the snack cakes. Maybe he could just throw the expired snack cakes into the magma around the lock thing in the basement? Maybe. He sighed and closed his eyes. All the snack cakes were going to make him fat.

***

Things between Adam and Curtis had been rocky to say the least and Curtis felt awful about it. He’d tried to talk to Adam about it and apologize constantly, but Adam wasn’t having it. He was depressed. Curtis didn’t really know what to do. He didn’t know if he should tell Adam to see a therapist or not. Curtis knew he could get Adam help if he went back to the Iscariots, but that would mean alerting them to the fact that Adam remembered.

Curtis hated this. So to try and make him feel a little better, Curtis went to try and find Adam’s favourite dessert. Dried dates with honey. Something the two of them had always enjoyed growing up. Something that would make him smile.

He quickly purchased the items from the corner store and was going to walk back to the apartment when he saw Shiro. The manticore gave him a nervous look, but didn’t seem aggressive. He didn’t understand why Shiro was here, but the manticore decided to stalk him. Was he going to kill him as an act of revenge?

“Shiro.” He said quietly as he passed him.

The manticore nodded a little and followed him. “Can I talk to you for a bit?”

“About what?” Asked Curtis. He didn’t look up at him as he walked down the street. “Is it about Adam?”

“Yes.”

“... Do you still love him?”

“Yes, I do.” Said Shiro quietly. “I’m just confused… I um… I’ve been trying to get over Adam for centuries and-”

Curtis put his hand up to silence him. “Stop. I’m too sober to talk about this. We’re getting a few beers before we have this talk. Got it?”

The Manticore nodded dumbly and followed Curtis to the closest bar. They got their beers and sat at a small table in the corner of the bar. Shiro seemed nervous and Curtis was just tired. 

Did he hate the manticore? Not really. He didn’t even really see Shiro as taking Adam away from him. Adam was always strongly independent and knew what he wanted. It was tiring some days, but it was fine. That was just Adam. Shiro seemed nice enough, but he didn’t really know. He had some prejudice against demons. He was a demon slaying Iscariot after all. 

He finished his beer and sighed. “Okay. Now we can talk.”

“... I still love Adam.” Said Shiro quietly. “I took some time to think about everything and I… I still love him. I didn’t know letting him see me as I truly am would make him remember… Am I a bad person for doing that?”

Curtis shrugged. “Look, I don’t think you’re a bad person. You wanted Adam to love and accept you for who you really are, just like last time… You really destroyed that village in your rage, didn’t you?”

Shiro blushed in embarrassment and sipped his drink. “Yeah… Manticores can kind of go into rages when we get into stressful situations. Just finding Adam’s home burnt down and his body all strung up there I… I just had to get revenge. I destroyed the whole place. If I could have, I would have killed the witchfinder too…”

“I got them.”

Shiro was surprised. “You did? How?”

Curtis shrugged. “Knowing that Adam would probably get murdered I sent a letter to the Vatican and several people came to help collect Adam’s body and to curse the town. We don’t take too kindly to normal humans murdering us when we try to help them. Very ungrateful swine.”

“So what did you do to him?” Asked Shrio curiously.

A small smirk made its way onto his face. “I know a fair bit of healing magic, so I made him suffer tenfold what he did to Adam…” 

***

Curtis remember it like it was yesterday. He, with full support of the Iscariot’s and the Pope, had captured the witchfinder that executed Adam. The man seemed terrified that he was going to be punished for his actions. It was almost enough to make Curtis laugh. Did he think he was exempt from punishment? What a moron.

Curtis had the man tied by his wrists to the nearest tree and whipped him over and over again. He didn’t stop when the man’s clothes got torn. He didn’t stop when blood soaked the tattered material. He didn’t stop when he felt a chunk of flesh hot his cheek. He only stopped when he saw ribs through the bloody flesh.

The man could have died, but Curtis wouldn’t let him. He walked over to the man and healed his injury, smirking when he saw the confusion on his face. “Did you really think I would just whip you to death? How many days did you make Adam suffer? How many days should I make you suffer? I can make you suffer and beg for death that won’t come until I decide it.”

Curtis continued to make the man suffer over and over again. Every second he was alive just made Curtis hate him more. Every day he would break his bones and pierce his flesh. His favourite one would have to be when he drove almost thirty nails into the hands of the man. When he had almost passed out from the pain, Curtis just slapped him and kept going. Despite his healing magic, the man’s hands never fully healed properly.

By the fourth day the other Iscariot’s started to get a little worried by his mental state. Ryan was the one to approach him. “You need to let him go.”

“Later. I’m not done yet.” Curtis punched the man in the face and broke his nose. The man let out a pathetic whimper and Curtis threw him to the ground. “ Parasite. Disgusting bastard… Fine. you really want him dead? Get me a saw and some rope.”

Within the hour the witchfinder was strung up by his ankles and Curtis had been provided with a saw. He enchanted one end of the saw and gripped the other handle. With a sick smirk he planted the saw right between the man’s legs and started cutting. Slowly and methodically he sawed through the man’s body. Slowly splitting him in two.

By the time he was done, the sun had started to set but his blood lust hadn’t been quenched yet. He still wanted to end this man’s life. He seemed to scare or at the very least worry the other Iscarriot’s. Once again Ryan talked to him.

“Curtis… I know you and Adam were close, but you avenged his death. When Adam comes back again you can have a good laugh about it and-”

“No.” Growled Curtis. “I’m done. I’m done with the Iscariots. Why the fuck would I work for people that keep letting us die over and over again. We don’t deserve this. We deserve better… Adam deserved better…”

***

“I killed him.” Said Curtis. “I killed him and made him suffer.”

“Good.” Shiro finished his drink and sighed. “Look, I just wan-”

“What did you do to his skull?” Asked Curtis. 

“Huh?”

“When we found Adam’s body we only found the charred remains of his skeleton but no skull. You took it, didn’t you?”

Shiro hung his head in shame. “I loved him… I loved him so much that I just… I was grieving. I kept Adam’s skull with me ever since he passed away… I still have it.”

“Oh? You do now?”

“I’m planning on burying it soon.” Reassured Shiro. “I’m not keeping it. I… The man I loved then and the man I love now are the same and different… I know this Adam better than the Adam I previously knew and I want to make him happy.”

“I see… So you’re asking me permission to make him happy?”

Shiro nervously bit his bottom lip and nodded. “I guess? I love Adam… I really do… I’ve never stopped loving him.”

Curtis found this amusing. He felt like he was acting more like Adam’s father giving some boy permission to try and court him. It was strange. He just sighed and put his groceries on the table, pushing them towards Shiro. The Manticore just looked confused. 

“You don’t need to convince me that you love Adam.” Said Curtis. “I know you love him. Take this and go talk to him. It’s his favourite, honey and dates… He’s at home right now. He’s been drinking heavily for the past few days. Please go and talk to him. At this rate he’s going to become an alcoholic.”

Shiro looked surprised but took the bag. “Thank you… I’ll take care of him.”

“I know you will. Now go on. Get out of here. Adam is waiting for you.” He watched Shiro’s eyes light up and he quickly headed out the door. Curtis smiled softly at him and got himself w whisky. He needed something a little stronger to get over his own heart ache.

***

Shiro was extremely nervous when it came to Adam. He had time to think about what he wanted and what Adam meant to him. He loved Adam. It didn’t matter if Adam was an Iscariot or not. Adam was still Adam. 

He knocked on the door and waited for about a minute. Adam answered the door and looked shocked to see him. He looked a little disheveled and smelled slightly of alcohol. “Shiro? Why are you here?”

The manticore smiled and held up the grocery bag. “Honey and dates?”

Adam looked at the bag and then back at him. Without a word he let the other in and took the bag off of him. He put it in the kitchen and Shiro sat on the couch. He saw an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the coffee table. The source of the alcohol smell.

Adam sat on the couch next to him and went to reach for his hand, but stopped himself. “... Shiro… You look good.”

“You um, you also look good.”

The man chuckled. “Don’t lie. I know I look like shit… So you came to see me. Why?”

Shiro took a deep breath. “Well… I took some time to think about what you said and what I want… And what I want is you.” He gently touched Adam’s cheek and smiled softly at him. “Adam, all I want is you… I was a little surprised to find out you’re an Iscariot, but I don’t mind… Sure I’m not that happy that you killed demons, but well, we Manticore are pretty violent.”

“Yeah, you guys kind of are…” Adam held Shiro’s hand in place on his face. “But that’s okay. I don’t mind. You might be a Manticore but you’re not violent… Can I see you? In your true form?”

“... Okay, but I need to move the couch or something. It’s going to be a little crowded otherwise.” The two of them moved the couch and then Shiro walked into the bathroom to remove his clothes. He’d destroyed enough clothes going between transformations.

When Shiro walked out he very carefully wedged himself in the game between the couch and the coffee table. Adam was still sitting on the couch, but had his honey and dates with him. He smiled and ran his fingers through Shiro’s mane. 

“You are perfect.” He said softly. “... I wish we could have flown together.”

Shiro smiled sadly and shrugged his shoulders. He could still feel the small bits of muscle and bone inside his shoulders trying desperately to move his long gone wings. “I wish we could have too.”

“They were beautiful. How did you lose them?”

“Well… That’s a bit of a long story.”

***

Lance was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling in his nest. He didn’t really know how to feel or if he was even feeling at the moment. Keith had started to be very careful with his bones and started to keep a small stock pile of cleaned bones from all kinds of animals next to the bed. Lance wasn’t too sure how he felt about his boyfriend actively participating in capitalism, but if it made him happy than who was he to judge?

Where was the demon anyway? He was somewhere around the house, but Lance had no idea where he was. He could always use some magic to try and figure out where Keith was, but Lance had made a promise to himself not to do that unless Keith really was missing. He saw it as an invasion of privacy.

Though he did want Keith with him right now. He just wanted his lovable, cuddly demon boyfriend to come over and cuddle him. It might make him feel better. Hell, he wanted Keith to run his fingers through his hair and touch him damn it.

He was still human and had human needs. He wanted Keith to touch him. He liked the way Keith touched him. The way his fingers ran over his body, how his tongue lapped at his hot skin, how thick his cock was, and of course how crazy his stamina was. If Lance asked, he bet Keith could fuck him all night long.

With a sigh, Lance pulled down his pants slightly and looked down at himself. The thought of having sex with Keith had made him twitch slightly, but he was still soft. He sighed and touched himself a little more just to see if he could get some kind of stimulation. There was a little something but he couldn’t even get a half chub. Not even a quarter chub. Sure he could always try and finger himself to get an erection, but he just didn’t feel like putting in that much effort.

He groaned in annoyance and gave up on it. “Perfect… Now I’m impotent too… Yay… Being a Warlock is the best…”

It wasn’t even about being impotent at this point. He was just frustrated with the lack of touch he was getting with Keith. Keith was just spending all his time with Shiro. He should be jealous. Shiro needed Keith right now and he wasn’t going to be the asshole and say he couldn’t do what he wanted.

But he was kind of jealous. He missed sleeping next to Keith. He was warm and kind of had a distinct warm earth smell. It was kind of odd, but he liked it. It made him feel safe. It gave him that little extra comfort when the sleep paralysis demon decided to pay him a visit.

He wished it was a real thing to Keith could just punch it and make it go away. He just wanted a good night’s sleep without it around. It was too much to ask apparently… If he saw Keith later today he would talk to him about it.


	21. Things in motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening... Dastardly, crafty things... Things with implications... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After a few days of thinking over what the information Lotor had sent him, Lance decided to go and visit the witch. Why? Well he thought he could get some more information from him and well, he was bored. Keith was still going around doing his own thing, possibly having fun with capitalism, and when he wasn’t doing that Keith was sticking close to Shiro.

So Lance found himself outside the Diabazzal’s new office and sighed loudly. It was a smaller office than the previous one their headquarters was. He sighed and walked inside. He walked up to the front desk where someone was working.

They smiled brightly at him. “Good afternoon sir. May I help you?”

“Um yeah, I think Lotor asked me to be here?”

They typed something up on their computer. “... Yes. Just one moment please.” They picked up the phone and briefly talked to someone on the other end for a few minutes before they looked back over at Lance and handed him a visitor’s pass. “First elevator on your left. Floor six. Lotor’s personal assistant, Acxa, will be waiting for you.”

Lance nodded and pinned the visitor’s pass to his shirt as he walked to the elevator. Once inside he hit the button and patiently waited for the doors to open again. When the doors opened up again Acxa was standing there waiting for him. She looked very different in a dark purple pants suit.

“Lance.” She said calmly. “I’m glad you decided to accept Lotor’s offer.”

“To be fair I did this out of boredom.”

“There are worse things you could have done due to boredom. Follow me.” She led Lance to Lotor’s office where the man was sitting behind his desk pouring two glasses of wine. 

When they entered the room he looked over at them and nodded. “Thank you Acxa. That is all for now.” When she left, Lotor gestured for him to sit down. When Lance did, Lotor offered him a glass of wine, which he took to not look rude.

Lance placed the glass back on the table and looked at Lotor. He looked like a real businessman, but there was a look in his eyes that reminded him a lot of Marcello. That evil man he wanted nothing to do with. It made his skin crawl.

“You know, I kind of expected you to be a little more, grandiose?” Said Lotor as he looked at Lance with a critical eye.

Lance shrugged as he picked up his wine glass and swirled the rich red liquid around. “I guess while I do sometimes like going things with a flourish I have my own way of doing things. I guess I could say the same thing about you though. You’re more flamboyant than Zarkon. He was more of the dark brooding type after all.”

“Indeed.” Said Lotor as he sipped his own wine. “I guess we should drop all previous expectations and get straight to it.”

“Yeah. I guess we should.” Lance put down his glass and stared at Lotor/ The man had a look in his eyes that he didn’t trust. “You want me to be all buddy-buddy with you to win favour back with the magic community.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“Yeah… So are you guys a blood coven or a bloodline coven?”

Lotor smiled and grinned. “Unfortunately we are a blood coven at the moment, but we are hoping that we will become a bloodline coven. But we need some kind of powerful entity to help with that.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He drank some more of his wine. “I have a proposition for you… You see, you and naturally all the powerful beings, heavenly, fae, and demonic, know you are some kind of god… Or at the very least someone on the verge of becoming a god. No one really knows what kind of god you will be.”

“Yes?”

“So we would like to ask if you would consider being the patron of our coven.”

“... Excuse me?” This had to be a joke. Lotor had been actively trying to turn everyone against warlocks at the meeting. There had to be a catch somewhere. What was his angle?

“It’s only a suggestion.” Said Lotor nonchalauntly. “That’s all.” 

“Right… So what kind of god do you think I am?” Asked Lance. “Why do you think I would be a good god for your coven?”

“The kind of god you are is very dependent on different situations. Such as the reason you became a god in the first place.” Said Lotor. “There is usually some reason behind someone becoming a god. Such as wanting to protect certain people or wanting to obtain something… But if I were to hazard a guess, considering you are also the key, you will probably be considered some kind of neutral god. You can open or close a gate at will.”

“Yeah. Not planning to do that.” Muttered Lance. “Don’t even know how to unlock it.”

Lotor seemed surprised to hear that. “Really? You found the lock?”

Lance felt like he might have screwed up a little. “Oh yeah. My house is right on top of the hellgate, and being the Key I kind of just know where it is. Makes sense, right?”

Lotor thought for a moment and nodded. “Well yes, I guess that’s true.” He finished his wine. “... I’m sure the Marmora coven will be a little more open with you about coven creation. They are, after all, your primary source of information, correct?”

“... Well yeah?” 

“Then they should be more willing to help you yes?” Asked Lotor. “Then again, you did come to us. Have they not been very helpful in your quest for information about covens?”

“...” Lance hadn’t thought about that before. He really should have just asked them first. Well now he was a bored idiot. “Ah… I see… Well…”

Lotor chuckled a little and waved his hand, refilling his own wine glass. “It’s okay. Please feel free to come back any time. Your company is quite interesting and I am sure we can become good business partners in the future. If you feel like it.”

“Um… yeah. Okay. Thanks Lotor. I’ll just be going now.” He quickly got up and left the room. Lance felt dumb for not asking Kolivan first. That was stupid on his part, but he wasn’t really thinking and making the best decissions these days was he?

***

While Lance was out doing whatever he was doing, Keith was back at the gate of hell. He was still interested in the bas relief on the pillar. He kept walking around it and poked at the carvings. It was so life-like. He poked it a few times and frowned.

There was a mystery in here that Keith wanted to find out. This pillar was meant to be the lock, but there wasn’t anything that he could poke or push or pull. Sure, he did conclude it was a magic thing and as a magic thing it basically said fuck you to everything, but Keith was a stuborn little shit.

Ever since he was but a small kit that liked poking around and trying to figure out how stuff worked. He once climbed into a dragon’s skull and stayed in there for two days while Shiro and Akira tried to get him out. All because Keith wanted to figure out how dragon brains worked. How Keith was meant to figure that out when he was a kit and the skull had been a skull for centuries? Keith didn’t know. He was a kit.

If he remembered correctly Shiro ended up pulling it apart starting from the eye socket while Akira dangled the guts of some animal in front of the opening Keith crawled into. All in all everyone was not happy about any of this. Especially Keith. He had questions he needed answers to that he wasn’t getting.

He started to climb up the tower again. There had to be something somewhere that he could hit or poke or something. It was frustrating. He suddenly heard a loud hiss and Keith quickly crawled around the tower to see Pidge dumping trash into the magma.

“Umm… What are you doing?” Asked Keith.

Pidge jumped a little and strained her eyes to see him. “What?” They called.

“I said; What are you doing?!” Called Keith a little louder.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAT?”

Keith rolled his eyes and quickly jumped across the magam to the side Pidge was on. “I was asking what you were doing dumping trash in the magam.”

She shrugged. “Hunk is still trying to make Troll friendly food for Shay. His failures are literal burnt rocks, so I jump them here. Pretty sure that the city garbage guys would get pissed if we dumped rocks into the trash every other day.”

“... I guess?”

“Yeah. What are you doing here?” She asked.

Keith gestured over to the pillar. “Trying to figure that thing out.”

“Have you been to the top yet?”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing up there. Pretty sure I need Lance up there to do something.”

“Fair enough.” Pidge hummed and hawed as she tried to see what was on it. “So… What’s on it? Any writing? Anything like a riddle?”

Keith shook his head. “Nope. Not at all. I’ve checked. I’m not pushing and pulling on everything. Still nothing.”

She nodded a little and looked like she was trying to formulate some kind of plan in her mind. Keith had no idea what it was, but she was scary when she thought out her ideas. Keith would have laughed at the thought of just a mere mortal causing a demon to worry, but here she was. 

“Have you considered that the bas relief on it is a story?”

“Huh?”

“Well at least in human civilizations we used pictures and junk to tell stories.” She explained. “Like, not a lot of us were able to read before. Reading as more of an elite thing back in the day but we knew pictures and stuff. Maybe the pillar is just a big story that will tell you how the whole key thing works?”

Keith shrugged. “Maybe? But it being a pillar it is a bit hard...”

“Maybe we can fix that? I have a camera.” Said Pidge. “We can like, take a bunch of photos of it and photoshop it together to make a clearer picture? Then we can see the full story and see if we can figure out what it says. Maybe Shiro would even know? Maybe even Adam?”

Keith made an annoyed sound and rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. Adam…”

“Still not a fan of him?”

“No.”

Pidge sighed. “Yeah, alright. Fair enough I guess? But Shiro seems happy so you should be happy for him?”

“I’m not a huge fan of anyone that I don’t trust that has the ability to straight up murder me and Shiro without batting an eye.”

“Yeah… and you’re banging Lance.”

Keith blushed when they said that. “Yeah well… That’s different.” He muttered. “It’s not like he was practically a god when I fell for him and I trust him… Plus we haven’t really done it much the past few months…”

Pidge looked surprised for a moment before she shook her head and picked up the bin. “Well, that explains part of Lance’s mood. Not only has he got all his mental trauma to deal with he’s not getting any dick either.”

“... How often do humans need to have sex?”

She snickered at Keith’s naive nature. “Humans don’t need sex Keith. We need clean air, food, water, and shelter. Fucking isn’t what we need, but it is nice. A little orgasm now and then…” She shrugged. “Well if Lance isn’t getting it from you he’s got some toys he can try.”

Now Keith was more confused. “Toys? Huh? What?”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh at poor Keith’s confusion. All she could do was grin as she walked out of the room. “You’ll figure it out eventually.” Keith wasn’t sure he would.

***

A few days after Adam and Shiro had made up, Curtis noticed that Adam’s attitude had greatly improved. They had pretty much gone back to dating like nothing happened. The only big change was that Adam was making a lot more cat jokes and Shiro was a little more physically intimate with Adam. 

He was happy for them. He really was. Adam deserved happiness and so did Shiro… But damn did he feel lonely. He didn’t have anyone to talk to about this. He was pretty much in semi-self imposed exile from the Iscariot’s so he had very little contact with them to start with. And even if he talked to anyone they would tell them about Adam and then Adam would be forced back to the Vatican or Jerusalem. Wherever the Iscariot’s felt it would be best to send him. Adam wouldn’t forgive him if that happened.

He walked back to the apartment and opened the door. Curtis saw a few cupboards in the kitchen open from the doorway and sighed. “Adam, you really need to remember to close doors.” He didn’t get much of a verbal response but he did hear something coming from the bedrooms.

He kind of felt that it might have been Adam and Shiro having a little fun, but it didn’t sound like that at all. Curtis grabbed a kitchen knife and silently made his way to their rooms. Adam’s bedroom door was still wide open and empty. The noise was coming from his bedroom.

The door was cracked open just a little and curtis could see someone walking around his room. They were looking for something as they muttered to themselves. Curtis quickly moved into the room and slammed the intruder face first onto his bed.

“Don’t move.” Growled Curtis. 

“... I usually have to pay to get roughed up like this.” Said the intruder. “Kinky.”

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

The man sighed. “Well, nothing much. I was just jumping around doing some timeline fixing and stuff when I realised I needed an enchanted caltrops for a very important thing. I had no idea when to get them nut I knew I could get them here. So I jumped forward in time a few times, then I had to jump back and now I am here.”

“...” Curtis forced the man onto his back and ended up staring into a sickening pair of acid green eyes. “You…”

“Yep. Me. Marcello McClain at your service.”

“But… You’re dead.”

Marcello rolled his eyes. “Well maybe at this point in time. I’ve been time hopping around for ages. Hell, I don’t even know what year this is. I’m just looking for the goods.” He paused for a second and smirked. “And by the looks of it I hit the jackpot.”

“...” Curtis pressed his knife against Marcello’s throat. “Don’t you even think about it you disgusting pervert. Why are you trying to rob the Iscariot’s?”

“Wait… you’re an Iscariot?” Marcello groaned in annoyance. “Of course it had to be a holy weapon in the hands of an actual Jebus fanboy and not a collector… Damn it… No wonder you’re not interested in fucking me. I’m not a seven year old boy.”

“...” Curtis decided to strangle the necromancer instead. “Shut up and die again you disgusting freak.”

Marcello looked surprised and struggled for a moment before he quickly pushed him away by lightly pressing his hand against Curtis’s chest. He made the man hit the wall. As Curtis got to his feet, Marcello sat up and rubbed his throat.

“Now… If I’m to be honest I have so, so many peadophile jokes I could just hit you with” Said Marcello. “… Like a Priest… spanking an altar boy… And by spanking I mean fucking them right up the a-”

Curtis threw a shoe at him. “Shut up already… So what? You did some kind of time travel shit?”

“Yep. That’s just how it is.” Said Marcello. “So… Can I have a caltrop?”

“No. Piss off.”

“Aw, come on. I’m a time traveler. Throw me a bone… or a boner.”

Curtis threw his other shoe at him. “Shut up.”

Marcello pouted and crossed his arms. “Okay, let me level with you. I have a tiny little trap set up and I needed to do a bit of holy weaponry to finish it off. Which is why I am here… So can I have it?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“I said no.”

“I’ll suck your dick?”

Curtis calmly stood up and walked over to his wardrobe. He took out the old wooden case and walked over to Marcello. He then swung it hard at his head. “Fucking die you shitty, overpowered, horny, necromancer!”

Marcello hit the ground hard. “Fuck! What about the timeline?! Killing me now will-”

“Fuck the timeline!” Snapped Curtis as he beat the hell out of him. “Fucking die!”

Marcello flailed and ended up knocking the case open. The daggers and the caltrops spilled all over the floor. Marello quickly grabbed a caltrop and grinned. “Thanks for the holy weapon. See you on the flipside.” With a shudder Marcello’s form vanished.

Curtis growled in frustration and punched the ground. Perfect. Of course on top of all the emotional shit he had to deal with now he had to deal with getting a fucking caltrop back from a dead necromancer. It was probably at the house. He was going to have to go back to the house… Oh boy he was going to get murdered by Lance and the other demons.

“I fucking hate warlocks…”


	22. Love Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... This chapter is just basically smut with some plot relevant stuff at the end with Shiro and Adam. So if you don't want to read the smut, just scroll down to Shiro and Adam. If not, enjoy the smut. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Around the afternoon Keith was digging around the nest. He was wondering what Pidge was talking about before about Lance having toys. He didn’t know what kind of toys Pidge was talking about, but he knew he would know what they are when he found them. He pulled out all the pillows and blankets until there was down to the mattress.

He pouted and lightly pressed down on the mattress, bouncing on it a little. There had to be something there. Pidge said that Lance had toys so he had to have them somewhere. Obviously they weren’t in the nest. They were probably in Lance’s stuff somewhere.

He started to check through the bedside drawers to see if anything was in there. Keith found some lube, condoms, and something that looked like a blue dick. He frowned a little as he looked at the dick thing. He was bigger. Keith was about to toss it aside and keep looking when he noticed that there were some numbers on the side near the base. It went from 0-3.

“What if I…?” Keith carefully twisted the base turning it onto the 1 setting. It immediately started vibrating in his hands. Keith jumped in shock, tossing it up into the air. Seconds later it came back down and hit him in the face. “Ow…”

“What are you doing?” Asked Lance as he walked into their room. “Changing the nest up or something?”

“Umm, yes?”

“... Okay?” He walked around to the side of the nest that Keith was standing in. “Is that my vibrator?”

“...” Keith quickly kicked it under the bedside table. “No.”

“Looks like it to me.” He crouched down and took it back out before turning it off. “So, were you actually going through my stuff or were you looking for something and happened to find this?”

Keith shrugged and looked down at the ground. “I was just doing stuff, and happened to find that… What’s a vibrator?”

“It’s like a dick, but fake. So it doesn’t cum in your ass.”

“I see… Weird human magic stuff again.”

Lance gave him a weird look before he grinned and snorted. “Yeah. Human magic.” He smiled softly at Keith. “So what were you doing?”

Keith shrugged. He felt like a kit getting caught in a lie. “I don’t know… Just… Pidge was saying stuff and I was just looking around for stuff… She said something about you not having sex for a while or something and stuff about toys so I was just-”

“Snooping?”

“Perhaps… Am I in trouble?”

Lance shook his head and patted his head. “It’s fine Keith. But yeah, you kind of found my sex toy.”

“... Do you use it often?”

Lance gave him a curious look. “Are you the kind of guy that gets upset when their lover uses other stuff to get off?”

Keith shook his head. “I don’t think so? I just… We have each other? Have you wanted to do it lately? I mean, I know I have been sleeping with Shiro for a few days because of the Adam thing… But if you wanted to you could have asked me about it.”

Lance shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal… With all the stress happening I can’t get hard anyway. So it doesn’t really matter.”

Now that surprised Keith. He kind of gave Lance a once over. “You can’t get it up? Is something wrong?”

“I just said it was stress.” Muttered Lance. “Stress can make it stop working…”

“Right… So you’ve wanted to, but you couldn’t? Is that it?” Asked Keith.

“... I think you’re reading into the fact I own a vibrator a little too much. I didn’t even use it that often anyway. It was just when I wanted to get fucked.”

“But you have me now?”

“Keith, you’re not a toy.” Said Lance. “I can’t just demand sex from you just for the hell of it.”

“... Well I’m kind of your demon anyway.” Said Keith. “If you ordered me to, I wouldn’t refuse you. You know that, right?”

Lance looked a little taken aback by that statement and lightly whacked Keith in the forehead with the vibrator. “Dude, that’s a sex slave. I told you already, I don’t like telling you want to do. You following my orders all the time is kind of… It makes me feel weird.”

“Sorry…” Humans were so much more sensitive than demons were about these kinds of things. “But I still want to do that stuff with you. I’m your boyfriend and I love you.” He gently kissed him. “Lance, I love you, and I want you… I’m sorry that I’ve been neglecting you so much lately.”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Said Lance quietly. “Shiro needed you. He’s your littermate. It’s more important that you make sure he’s okay.”

Keith frowned at him and held Lance’s face in his hands. “Lance. You need to stop doing this… I think we both know I’m not the best when it comes to reading people. If you need me you need to tell me.” He kissed him again and Lance kissed back. He was extremely receptive to Keith’s touches. Lance kept leaning into his hands and relaxed. Keith believed the term was touch starved. Lance was touch starved and he felt guilty about it.

With a small amount of coxing Keith managed to gently push Lance onto the nest, and carefully crawled on top of them. He looked at his lover with adoration and gently kissed his neck and collarbone. He wanted to give Lance everything he wanted and needed and then some.

“Can I?”

“Yes.” Breathed Lance quickly. “Fuck yes.” He pulled at Keith’s clothes in an attempt to try and quickly get them off. Keith was more than happy to oblige his lover.

Soon the two of them were both naked and Keith was going to take his time to indulge himself. Keith found it curious that humans covered their bodies so much. They seemed to be more like decorations to Keith more than anything. Kind of like soft jewelry. Lance didn’t wear anything Keith would think was fancy. If anything it was like fancy wrapping paper to get to the prize that was Lance underneath. 

Human skin was so soft and fragile. It bruised so easily and left such interesting patterns. It scarred so easily too. If he wanted to he could carve a pattern into Lance’s body and it would stay with him for the rest of his life. If they started to fade he could always run his claws along them again. He could make Lance’s body look so pretty if he would let him, but he knew he wouldn’t.

He ran his tongue along Lance’s neck, and shivered when he felt Lance’s blood pulsing just under this skin. Being a skin eater, Keith could taste the pride rolling off Lance’s skin. That lightly savoury taste with hints of sweet lust. If Keith was a lesser demon he probably would have eaten Lance alive right then and there. His flesh, though not as sweet and the meat he craved, was addicting.

Keith kissed down Lance’s body and occasionally let his tongue dart out and lick his skin. Beautiful, perfect, delicious, Lance. It was practically impossible for Lance not to be delicious to him. He could almost understand how a succubus or an incubus felt when they finally had a human under them. If Lance tasted good to him now he’d be a feast for them.

He moved his hands down and around Lance’s thighs. Lance’s thighs and ass were perfect. Deliciously, perfectly soft and supple. He just wanted to sink his teeth in and leave a bite mark. Dozens of them. He wanted to litter Lance’s perfect body with marks so everyone knew that Lance belonged to him just as much as Keith belonged to him.

He kissed along Lance’s inner thigh, his lips lingering and traveling along the path of his femoral artery. So soft, so beautiful. Lance was moaning softly above him. He was apparently enjoying Keith’s mouth just as much as he liked having his mouth on Lance.

Keith made brief eye contact with Lance, which just made his lover blush and look away. It was adorable. He wanted to keep making Lance blush and make cute noises. He lightly swiped his tongue over Lance’s twitching entrance before he pushed his tongue deep inside him.

Lance gasped and grasped the blankets. “Oh fuck, Keith!” He moaned.

It was too easy to make Lance come undone. Maybe all humans were just like that? If that’s true then Keith would do everything he could to make Lance lose himself to pleasure. He rolled Lance onto his back and quickly shoved his tongue back into his lover.

Lance was panting heavily as he tried to for words. “Y-you love eating ass d-don’t you?”

Keith rolled his eyes. He didn’t know if Lance meant literally or not. Mainly because he actually did like eating ass. There was a lot of muscle there. But he was pretty sure that Lance meant sticking his tongue in his ass. Humans were a strange species.

“You have no idea how good you taste do you?” Asked Keith as he squeezed his asscheeks. “To demons, humans taste delicious. If I were a sex demon I would have drained you dry already.” He pressed his thumbs against the edges, gently teasing him open. Doing that made Lance moan in the most needy ways possible. “You’d be a feast for any demon.”

He ran his fingers around the edges of the nest until he found a bottle of that weird clear oil stuff Lance made them use whenever they had sex. He called it lube, but it just reminded Keith of slime. He poured a generous amount of lube onto Lance’s ass and his own cock.

Keith pressed the tip of his cock against Lance’s ass, catching the tip right on the rim. Lance’s voice caught in his throat which just made the demon smirk. “You want it?”

“Y-yeah.” Panted Lance. “J-just go slow… You’re big…”

“Yeah, I know.” Keith held Lance’s hip with one hand while he carefully lined himself up properly and slowly pushed himself in. 

Despite Lance’s complaints that he was too big Keith was always able to fit with just a little bit of patience. Though Lance’s perfectly hot body that just kept pulling him in deeper. He wanted to just pull him in close and start fucking Lance until he cried out pleasure. The only reason he didn’t was because of how tense Lance was under him. He was only a third of the way in.

“... Are you okay?” Asked Keith. “Do you want me to stop?”

Lance shook his head and reached around and grabbed hold of Keith’s wrist. “No… Keep going.”

“Are you sure? I-”

Lance quickly pushed back and almost completely forced Keith inside himself. Both of them moaned loudly at that action. Lance was squeezing so unbelievably tight around him. It was so good. He held Lance close and panted heavily into his ear. 

“F-fuck Lance…” He moaned. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Lance was gripping the bed sheets until his knuckles were white. “I-I want it…” He panted heavily. “I Don’t c-care if it hurts…”

“But I care.” Said Keith as he grabbed hold of Lance’s wrists and kissed his neck. He still wanted to screw Lance into oblivion, but as far as he knew Lance wasn’t that big of a masochist. He wanted Lance to feel good. Keith did his best not to move until Lance stopped squeezing around him so much. “I love you. I love you so much.” 

“I-I love you too.” Lance tilted his head slightly and kissed the side of Keith’s head. “I love you so much. Please Keith, make me feel good.”

“...” Keith slowly moved his hips. Lance was tight. Too tight. He could hardly move at all, but Lance was already moaning loudly. He probably should have fingered Lance first. He reached under his lover and started to stroke him. He loved how soft and smooth Lance’s body was. Humans were beautiful.

Slowly Lance relaxed and Keith was able to move a little more. Thrusting just that little bit harder and deeper into him. He slowly picked up the pace, drawing all the beautiful sounds that Keith loved to hear.

“H-harder.” Lance moaned. “P-please.”

Keith was more than happy to oblige him and started to really drill into Lance. He felt so good, just squeezing around him so tightly. Lance cried out and came, squeezing extremely tightly around him Keith groaned and buried himself as deep inside Lance as he could. They stayed still for a moment, panting heavily.

With some reluctance, Keith pulled out of Lance’s now gaping hole. “... Are you okay?” 

Lance hummed softly and turned his head, kissing Keith’s cheek. “I’m fine… You know, I’m starting to think your spit has some muscle relaxant properties.”

Keith frowned and tilted his head in confusion. “Explain?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that normally getting something the size of a beer can shoved up my ass after getting eaten out would normally result in my ass getting torn to shreds.” Said Lance. “So yeah… Magic demon spit.”

Keith shrugged and held Lance close. “Maybe? I mean, I can use my spit to cause paralysis, but only when ingested.”

“Huh, okay.” He kissed Keith again and relaxed into him. “... You know I won’t be able to walk around tomorrow and you’re going to have to take care of me, right?”

“I know.” Keith ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. “I’ll always take care of you.” Lance was beautiful, and if he couldn’t take away the pain in Lance’s mind he could at least try and give him all the physical love and affection he could. Hell, it didn’t go that far from his normal function as a summoned demon. 

Lance sighed and closed his eyes. “You don’t have to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”

“Well I think I proved I can take care of you.” Said Keith. “It was my plan that saved you from Marcello.”

“And it was my request that stopped you from getting murdered.” Said Lance.

“... So I guess we’re even?”

Lance shrugged. “I guess so… Maybe we can just say we take care of each other and leave it at that?”

Keith smiled and kissed Lance’s cheek. “Yeah. I can agree with that. I’ll have your back if you have mine.”

“Yeah.” Lance yawned. “Eh, I’m gonna have a nap…”

“You do that.” Said Keith. “I’ll stay here and keep you safe.” He watched as his lover smiled sweetly at him before he finally fell asleep. Lance was pretty when he slept. He liked watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his lover’s chest when he was at peace. He wished that he could keep Lance at peace like this all the time. He’d do the best he could, as both a boyfriend and a demon, and or angel. Whatever he was.

***

In Shiro’s room there was a box. In that box was Adam’s skull. It was cracked and decayed beyond repair. He was trying to figure out what he was going to do with it. He wanted to bury it outside somewhere, but he wasn’t too sure where. He was going to ask Lance or Keith if they had any idea where he should put it, but quickly avoided their room when he heard them moaning like two animals in heat. He had thought about asking Hunk or Pidge if they wanted to help him, but they had already gone to classes or to their internship. 

So Shiro was walking around the backyard and went over to the pond in the back with his box in his hands. He wondered if he should just throw his skull into the water and just leave it at that? Maybe crush it up and throw it away? He had no idea.

He decided that maybe he’s just bury it under one of the trees near the pond? It seemed a little nicer and if Adam or Lance wanted to see it for any reason they could easily find it anyway. He wasn’t sure if it was still an object of power anymore since Lance hadn’t really sought out Adam’s skull in a long time. Shiro kind of speculated that since it was falling apart it was losing power and becoming a normal skull anyway.

He dug out a large hole and went to put the box in it, but he decided to take one last look at the skull. The beautiful streaks of gold that he had used to hold the bone in place for centuries had chipped and cracked away. Many of the teeth had fallen out too. Large patches of the skull had fallen in. It looked pretty bad. Shiro put the lid on the box and buried it.

He patted down the dirt a few times and tried to smooth it out. It was done. He’d buried the last piece of Adam that held them to the past. Symbolically this meant he could move on or something like that.

“Shiro?”

The Manticore jumped in surprise and quickly turned around to see Adam leaning against a tree with a soft smile on his face. “What are you doing here?” Asked Shiro.

Adam shrugged. “Didn’t have a class today, but I went in to do some work. But everything’s done so I decided to stop by… But I didn’t think that Keith would like me in the house.”

“Maybe…” He walked over to Adam and kissed him. “I think he hates Curtis more, maybe… He hasn’t really talked much about it. Keith is dealing with some stuff at the moment.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He’s still trying to figure out what is going on with the whole him being a demon but sin-eaters are technically corrupted angels.”

Adam seemed a little surprised to hear that. “Oh? Really? … Well I guess that is a little shocking to a demon… Some of the higher ranking demons do also have angelic heritage. It’s not just Sin-eaters.”

“You know stuff about that?”

“Of course.” Said Adam with a smile. “My speciality as an Iscariot was that of an apothecary. I specialized in making all kinds of tonics out of different creature parts and plants. When I wasn’t doing that I was reading everything I could about angels, demons, and fae. I can find some information for him.”

“Thanks. I think he would appreciate it.”

“Good.” Adam looked over at the fresh dirt by the tree. “What were you burying there?”

“Oh um… So… Your old skull?”

“Ah… Okay. Well now I know where it is… Not too sure where my other bodies ended up. Probably stayed in the middle east somewhere. Damn holy wars.”

“Yeah… Should I put a little marker there or something?”

Adam shrugged. “Some things are best left buried and forgotten…” He gently ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair. “I don’t want to remember my past as an Iscariot if I can help it. I just want to live my life with you. In the here and now. Okay?”

“Okay.” Agreed Shiro. “We’ll leave it all in the past.”

“That’s good… Now, have you ever eaten ramen before?”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

Adam grinned. “Go get dressed. I’m taking you out to get some ramen. Consider it a celebration of us officially putting the past to rest.”


	23. Gonna need a drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is (objectively) doing his best, Keith is still best demon boy (even if he's still kind of confused), and Marcello... well if you read the first in this series he's still an asshole. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was full of many regrets. Mostly regrets concerning his ass. Keith was amazing in bed, but it was murder on his ass. His ass and his hips were always sore and had bruised after the whole ordeal. At least Keith was good to his word and by his side when he woke up. 

He carried Lance to the bathroom and ran him a bath. Lance wasn’t sure how Keith learnt about aftercare like this, but he wasn’t complaining. Keith was godsend. He sat next to the bath and ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. Then he’d gently massage his shoulders and neck. It was nice. Lance liked being pampered like this. Getting some praise once every now and then was fun.

Lance closed his eyes when Keith went about rubbing shampoo into his hair. He sighed contently and leaned back a little. “Hmmm, you have amazing hands…”

“I thought you liked my tongue more.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah well, experiencing your tongue is practically a religious experience. I am pretty damn sure I saw someone’s god and said hello for a brief second there.”

Keith snorted out a laugh. “Seriously? I didn’t realise you loved my tongue so much.”

“Love your dick too.”

“Aw, thanks. Your ass is amazing too.” He rinsed Lance’s hair out and started kissing down his neck. “You ready to get out?”

“Yeah.” 

Lance reached out and let Keith carry him out and dry him. He watched Keith closely and was kind of interested at how much care Keith put into it. It was kind of like body worship. It made him feel kind of good. He kind of liked getting pampered like this. 

Once he was dried and dressed in his favourite blue bathrobe, Keith brought him back to the bedroom and placed him on a chair. When he was comfortable, Keith went and changed the sheets in the nest to make it more comfortable. When the nest was remade Keith put Lance back in the nest and sat by him.

“Is there anything else you need?” He asked.

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I’m good for now. Thanks for taking care of me.”

Keith smiled at him and kissed him. “Do you want some food? Something to drink? Just let me know.”

“Just stay by my side.” Said Lance. He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and enjoyed how soft Keith’s hair felt between his fingers. He felt a strange bit of pride swelling up inside himself as he thought about that. The way Keith was so dedicated to him, it was beautiful. “You know, with the way you act sometimes it’s no surprise that you have some angel in you.”

“... Yeah.”

Something was clearly up with Keith. He didn’t look happy at all. He looked, conflicted. “Keith? What’s wrong?”

The demon shrugged. “I don’t know… I’m just confused about the whole angel thing… Like, I’m already kind of a chimera of different things; Sin-Eater, human, technically beast-blooded… It’s all weird to me.”

Lance didn’t really know how to react to this. “Um, isn’t a chimera that lion, goat, snake thing?”

“Well yeah.” Said Keith. “But it can be used to describe the fact that I am just a mashup of everything… I mean, I haven’t even been in an angel form since I kind of ate you before. I have no idea what I am meant to be. Am I a real demon? Am I an angel? I have no idea…”

“Oh… Well if it makes you feel any better you’re Keith.” Said Lance. “Who really cares what you are. You say you’re Keith, and you’ve always identified as a Sin-eater, right?”

“I guess…” Keith sighed dramatically and lied down next to him. He had a distant look in his eyes. “I just… It’s a big shock to me. My bloodline is… Demons are very proud of being, well, demons. If we have human blood or blood from other non demon creatures in us it’s kind of swept under the rug or ignored.”

“I see…” He gently rubbed Keith’s back, noting how he would tense when he touched in between his shoulder blades. “Do you still feel your wings? Like, under your skin?”

“Sometimes… It’s just weird.” Muttered Keith. “I don’t know what kind of monster I am now…”

“You’re not a monster.” Said Lance calmly. He started to braid Keith’s hair. It was starting to get kind of long. A little longer than a mullet. Maybe he’d keep growing his hair out? It would look pretty if it was long. He could braid it and do all kinds of hairstyles with it if Keith would let him. “You’re Keith, and I love you.”

“I love you too… Do you want to take another nap?”

“Yeah, you gonna put some pants on?”

Keith looked down at himself and shrugged. “Nah.”

“Pervert.”

“Who is more perverted? The demon that can walk around naked and know that naked doesn’t have to be sexual, or the human that thinks being naked is inherently sexual?”

“... You’re still a pervert.”

***

Lance was stuck in the nest for the rest of the day, but he was able to get up and walk around without much pain the next day. It was still nice that Keith was following around and making sure he was okay. Though it was kind of annoying when Keith started to try and give him boxes of snack cakes every time he stopped walking or sat down. It started as cute, but now it was annoying. 

When Lance sat on the couch and Keith offered Lance a box of snack cakes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Lance knocked it out of his hands. “Quit it. You’re not helping.” 

Keith shrunk away from him and picked up the box. “Sorry… I’m just trying to help you.”

“...” Lance sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “I know… But forcing me to eat cake isn’t going to make me feel better. You trying to make me fat or something?”

The demon shook his head. “No, I just want to make you feel better… I don’t know how to make humans feel better… I’m sorry.”

Lance shook his head and just turned on the TV. “Whatever… I’m just going to watch TV. You do whatever you want.”

“But what if you need-?”

“I’ll figure it out.” Snapped Lance.

“... Okay.” Keith quickly left him alone and Lance groaned in frustration.

He was having mood swings again. Which sucked. He knew his sudden mood shifts would confuse Keith, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t like how Keith was just trying to shove cake down his throat. He was going to get fat. 

He groaned louder and lied back on the couch. He knew he shouldn’t be angry at Keith. He shouldn’t be treating him like that. Keith didn’t deserve that. They just had such an amazing night together too, and Keith even helped him bathe. He kind of just wanted to scream.

Lance glared up at the ceiling. He was angry, but his anger was quickly dissipating. Now he just felt sad and upset. He sniffled a little and tried to rub the tears out of his eyes. He needed to talk to Slav about his mental state. He didn’t know if massive mood swings were part of PTSD or not, but he kind of hoped it was. He didn’t want to have more fucked up things going on with him than there already were.

He held a pillow close to his chest and started sobbing uncontrollably. He was a wreck. He treated Keith like shit for no reason. He shouldn’t have yelled at him. He shouldn’t have. He should have just kept his mouth shut and ate the cakes Keith gave him.

“... Are you okay?”

Lance’s eyes snapped open and he jumped back in shock. The man staring back at him was all too familiar. Lance would recognise the acid green eyes of Marcello McClain anywhere.

“YOU!” He yelled accusingly. “THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU ARE DEAD!”

Marcello gave him a confused look before he shrugged and looked around the room. “Eh, you want the short version or the long version?”

“... Short, version.” Either Lance had finally snapped or this was weird magic shit. He was kind of hoping it was magic shit and he hadn’t lost his mind. Then again, did he really want Marcello around?

Marcello grinned and clapped his hands. “Right, so long story short I have a thing I am building, which is a continuation of what Lady Beatrice was building, and I needed to move forward a bit to get some things that would have gone and aged by the right time. I was just coming to get it before I went back home to my time.”

“... Your time?” Asked Lance. “So you’re doing some time travel stuff?”

Marcello nodded. “Oh yeah. By the way, don’t tell me anything super vital like who you are or what is going on in the world. It can accidentally change the past and well, you don’t really want to cause the past to change and mess up your future, do you?”

“... Okay, fair enough.” Lance watched Marcello closely as the man walked around the room. He wasn’t going crazy. He was definitely younger. He didn’t have any wrinkles on his face and he just looked young. He actually looked around his age. This Marcello was young. He didn’t know who was. Time travel was weird.

Marcello hummed and hawed as he looked around without paying Lance much attention. “Wow, the house has changed so much since I started to take over… More… Junky…”

“Junky?!”

“Yep. Junky.” He ran his finger across the top of his TV and frowned. “Dusty too.”

“Yeah… Can you just get your stuff and go away?”

Marcello rolled his eyes and kept looking around the room. “What’s with all the hostility? Did my future self fuck you over or something?”

“You could say that…”

The other man shrugged and sat on the couch next to him. “So, what’s up with you anyway Blue? Why are you crying?”

“... Blue?”

“Well you got cute blue eyes and you haven’t told me your name cutie.”

All of Lance’s alarm bells went off as he quickly moved away from Marcello. “Oh fuck no. You stay the fuck away from me.”

Marcello just rolled his eyes. “What are you? Straight? I can change that.”

“... Okay, firstly; that’s fucking predatory and disgusting. Secondly; disgusting as fuck. Thirdly; want me to tell you how we know each other and how what you just said is really fucked up?”

The man thought for a moment. “... Eh, I’d rather not know and live in ignorance.”

“You are one fucked up person...” Muttered Lance. “Also, why the hell would I even tell you anything? You’re a fucked up sociopath.”

“Ah, so you know that much about me.”

“Clearly.”

Marcello shrugged and leaned against the back of the couch. “So, I’m probably the best kind of person to talk to about it, huh? I’m not gonna give you some bullshit answer to your problems. I’ll tell you if you’re fucked or not.”

“... I have PTSD you asshole.”

“See a therapist?”

“Already doing that.”

“You on any drugs for it?”

“No. It’s talk therapy first then drugs if it doesn’t work.”

“Ah, okay.” Marcello drummed his fingers on his knee for a few minutes. “So… You have PTSD and you’re doing talk therapy? My advice, take the drugs. Clearly the talk therapy isn’t working as well as you hoped it would.” He got off the couch, walked over to a clock of the wall and took the batteries out of it. “I need these.”

“Right… Is that all?”

“For the moment, yes.”

“Good. Can you point me in the direction of the alcohol because I need a drink.”

Marcello shrugged and touched something on the side of the bookshelf. A panel opened up in the wall revealing several bottles of alcohol. The man quickly looked through everything and grabbed a bottle that seemed to be full of something red. Possibly wine. “Take your pick Blue. I’m going home, but I’ll probably be back in a few days. There are some jars in the basement that aren’t fermented yet.”

“Fun…”

“Very.” Marcello stretched and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, later Blue. Good luck with whatever you’re going through.” He did the whole finger gun routine at him before he appeared to evaporate into nothing. 

“... Right.” Lance quickly raided the secret alcohol cabinet. Marcello could time travel now. Marcello hit on him. The only good thing was that Marcello didn’t know who he was. Still, Lance was going to drink until he couldn’t remember what the hell just happened.

***

Keith had escaped to the roof and was nervously picking the tiles off the roof. He was trying to be nice to Lance, but he just suddenly turned on him. He didn’t understand what he was doing wrong. Apparently whatever he was doing wasn’t good enough for Lance. He didn’t like not being able to make Lance feel better. 

He thought he had made Lance feel good, but he obviously didn’t. Once again he was a failure. Maybe he could get some more bones and trade them for more shiny things? Pidge liked them and she was human so it stood to reason that Lance might like some shiny things too? He wanted Lance to feel good around him no matter what. It really stressed Keith out and made his muscles twitch around his shoulder blades. He didn’t like this.

Maybe this was part of Lance’s mental illness to get angry at him? But then again he’d only seen Lance blow up at him. Keith didn’t like that. He didn’t know why Lance just seemed to get mad at him. He thought they were boyfriends? Maybe this was just normal for humans? Was this how Lance was going to treat him from now on? 

He wasn’t sure he liked this arrangement. If Lance was going to be mean to him after they had sex then he’d rather they weren’t in love with each other. It would make him feel less like he had just been used for sex, even though Lance insisted he wasn’t using him for sex. Which kind of made the situation worse for Keith. He would have been fine if Lance just said he wanted sex, but this? It really upset him.

By the time Keith had finished thinking through all this he had ripped up a sizable hole in the roof. He was surprised to see that the inside of the roof was pink stuff. It kind of looked like cotton candy. He took a small piece out and ate it. Definitely not cotton candy. It was like eating glass. It was gross.

But it had quickly caught Keith’s attention. He very carefully clawed through the pink stuff until he got to the drywall. At which point Keith punched a hole in the wall and crawled through into the attic. The house started to close up all the claw marks Keith had made to get in. One of the many perks of having a magic house. It was self repairing.

The attic was full of human stuff. Lots of old clothes and boxes of junk. This was kind of… It was boring to him. But he’d have some fun looking through boxes. He might be able to find something shiny that Lance would like and then he wouldn’t be angry at him anymore.

He dug through a box and found a few creepy looking masks. Some of them looked like they were made by humans and some others looked like they were made to look like demons. He was pretty sure that one of the masks was actually a skull. There was a mirror over in the corner, and Keith not having anything better to do, he put the skull on and had a look at himself in the mirror. 

He didn’t look scary. He looked kind of goofy in anything. Keith sighed and took it off. He put it aside and continued to look at himself in the mirror. It wasn’t something he normally did. Reflective surfaces weren;t common in hell and on Earth he only really looked at himself when he was making sure his disguise was good for hunting.

He had to admit he was pretty good looking. It was part of his disguise. Heck, even when he was in his normal demonic form he was pretty handsome. His features were pretty sharp and his horns were pretty good for the most part.

“...” Keith changed into his demonic form and looked at his horns. He ran his fingers over them and lightly touched the very tips. His horns were very big compared to most demons, but they did look nice. Not very functional, but they were aesthetically pleasing. Though they were slightly wonky.

Maybe Lance would like him better if he looked nicer. Humans liked nice things. Lance liked nice things. What things did Lance like about him? Did he like shiny things? Gold? Money? He could probably find some things to improve his appearance a little for Lance. Maybe some gold rings on his horns or maybe some wire with some of the red or blue shiny rocks? Humans liked bracelets or something?

Keith wasn’t too sure what Lance would think looked nice on him. He looked through the boxes and tried to find the nicest looking fabric. He found a long piece of red silk with gold sequins embroidered on each end. It looked pretty, something Lance would like?

He shrugged off his clothes and started to wrap himself in the fabric. It didn’t look that nice no matter what Keith did with it. It bunched up in odd places and it just refused to lay flat. This kind of pissed him off since he was just trying to look nice to please Lance.

Was this even health to obsess over? He’d talk to Shiro about it later. Maybe Krolia. They were due to see her again for some more magic training. He just wanted Lance to be happy. Humans were way too difficult to understand sometimes. 

He pulled his pants back on and sat on the floor in front of the mirror with the silk draped over his shoulders. Keith wanted to know how to help Lance and make him better. He still stood by the fact that if he was more angel then demon he’d be able to heal Lance of his mental trauma. But he was a demon, and demons were destructive. Even as a Sin-eater he wasn’t able to say he was completely pure. He ate people.

As he thought about it the more his shoulder blades hurt. It sucked. He wished he knew what was happening to his body, but Lance was more important now. Everything was happening to him. Either Lance or Shiro. Those guys were always getting in major trouble.


	24. Clarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is taking responsibility for making Keith feel bad. Keith is easily distracted, and Pidge is just Pidge. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When Pidge got back from her internship she was surprised to see that Keith was sitting in front of her bedroom door. He hadn’t seen the demon around for a few days because of her crazy sleep schedule and her habit of locking himself up in her room. She had her own personal bathroom and a mini fridge. She didn’t need to leave unless he had to.

“Hey demon boy. What’s up?”

“I need some help.” Keith held up his phone. “I’ve seen you guys play shows on it like on the TV. Show me how to get shows.”

“... Alright?” Pidge took his phone off him and walked into her room as she looked for any good apps Keith might like. “What do you need it for? You trying to look up Tekken videos or something?”

Keith shook his head. “No. I was just… curious…”

“Curious?”

“Yeah, curious.” Muttered Keith. He nervously played with his hair and averted his eyes. “Um, are there shows I can get on my phone about how to make myself look more… appealing?”

“Appealing?” Questioned Pidge. Now she was interested. “Is this more appealing so you can hunt and eat people or something else?”

“Something else.” Said Keith quietly. “I um… I want to look nice for Lance. He’s been grumpy lately and I… I want to make myself look nice for him. I thought that if I looked more like a nice human that maybe it would cheer Lance up a little?”

Pidge didn’t like how Keith worded that. “Um, are you sure Lance isn’t just suffering from a mood swing or something? That’s kind of a symptom of his PTSD.”

“... I don’t know.” Keith seemed very nervous now. “I don’t really know a lot about mental illness. I’m trying, but it’s hard… Lance is just happy one second and then he goes ahead and snaps at me for trying to take care of him…”

“And you thought making yourself look nicer would work because?”

Keith shrugged. “Humans like pretty things. Demons aren’t inherently pretty. The pretty ones are the ones that kill humans… Like yeah, I look nice enough, but I’m not… I tried to wrap myself in some red silk I found in the attic, but it didn’t look nice on me…”

Pidge rolled her eyes. Lance was an idiot. Keith was gorgeous. Even her stupid ace ass knew Keith was hot. Was Lance telling Keith he was ugly or something? It wasn’t funny. Keith was thick skinned but he did tend to take things they said literally. 

“Keith, you aren’t ugly.” Said Pidge. “Looking pretty isn’t going to make Lance happy. He’s just got some bad mood swings at the moment… If you want to look at human beauty channels and stuff because you’re interested in it I will help you, but if you’re doing it because you think it will help Lance like you more then it’s gonna be a flat no from me.” Keith frowned and fiddled with his shirt. “... Sit down and think about it okay?” 

Keith nodded and sat on Pidge’s bed. He looked like he was thinking very hard about this. As he did that, Pidge went to her computer and opened up photoshop. She was very close to finishing piecing together the mural on the pole. Technically it was the lock? Maybe? Pidge wasn’t too sure.

A few clicks later they were done. “Okay, finished the mural.” She waved Keith over and let the demon have a look at it. “What do you think? Gotten the full picture yet?”

“Yeah…” Muttered Keith. “I don’t know… Shiro would know what it is. I’ll go and get him.” The demon quickly scurried away to find the older demon. The two of them came back about ten minutes later and Keith directed the manticore to the computer screen. “What’s this?” He asked.

Shiro stared at the computer screen and frowned at it. “Did you guys go back to the lock?”

“Yep.” Said Pidge with a pop at the end of her p. “So with the full picture, what’s the story?”

“It isn’t much of a story. It’s kind of just a warning.” Said Shiro. He pointed to the demons clawing their way up. “Down the bottom are your lesser demons and malicious spirits. The closer to the top are the more powerful demons. See, you have some dragons, succubi, djinn, a mancubus… Oh there’s even a few damned fiends.”

“Right… And what about the ones up the top?” Asked Pidge.

Shiro looked at the figures right up the top of the pillar that were reaching down towards the demons. “Let’s see… Lots of angels here… I think those ones are… archangels, virtues, dominions, sequi, and a few other heavenly bodies I don’t really recognise… But there are a few dragons there too, so there’s that.”

“But what does it mean?” Asked Pidge.

“It means if any of the gates are open then the beings of hell and those in heaven will rush forward and destroy each other in their race to claim the earth from the fea.” Said Shiro calmly. He lightly nudged Keith’s side. “Remember when we saw all those dragons around that tower?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah… I was still small enough for you to launch me with your wing if I sat on it.”

Pidge snorted at that. “Okay, what’s the story behind that?”

Shiro chuckled and grinned. “I was sleeping and spreading out when someone decided it was a good idea to see if I had parasites in my wing folds. He touched something that made my wing twitch and I launched Keith across a savanna.”

Pidge was cackling at the thought of teeny, tiny, demon Keith attempting to groom his wings before flying through the air at top sleep. He didn’t know how often that would happen in the demon world, but the thought of Keith getting yeeted and screeching as he flew while other demons looked up in confusion, was funny to her. Probably wasn’t very fun for Keith at the time, but he had a bit of a fond smile on his face. It must have been an alright memory for him.

“I remember that day.” Said Keith. “It was fun.”

Shiro smiled at his littermate. “Yeah. It was. I could probably still throw you with my wings now if I still had them.”

Keith frowned and gently rubbed Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro… We can figure something out. Really… We’ll try and get you flying again…”

Shiro shrugged. “It’s no big deal. Not like I’m paralysed or something. That would have been a bit more jarring for me… I think? Anyway, it’s basically a warning letting you know that this place is fucked if that happens. Which is why it’s probably not a good idea to open the gates of hell any time soon.”

“Agreed.” Muttered Keith. “Lance doesn’t want to be in that room anyway.”

“Yeah… Want to come to the greenhouse with me?”

“Sure.”

The two demons left, Keith seemingly forgetting he came over for Pidge to give him access to beauty videos. It wasn’t a big deal. He really needed a distraction, and Pidge needed to talk to Lance. She knew he was in the house somewhere.

Pidge quickly got up and happily walked around the house until he found Lance looking miserable on a couch in some random room. He looked over at her and waved slightly. “Hey…”

“Hey. How are you feeling today?”

“Sick and tired of everything… So normal. You?”

Pidge shrugged and walked over to him. “I’m fine, but Keith’s not doing too well.”

“Oh?”

“He was asking me to help him look up videos on human beauty.”

Lance frowned. “Like makeup channels and stuff? Why is that a bad thing?”

She rolled her eyes and lightly slapped his arm. “Because he thinks if he looks pretty you’ll treat him nicely again.”

“I have been treating him nicely!” Snapped Lance. “I’ve been an awesome boyfriend!”

“Then why did Keith tell me you’re being mean to him? Asked Pidge. “Why is he asking me on how to improve how he looks so you’ll treat him better?”

“... I might have snapped at him a little, but I’ve never called him ugly or anything.” Admitted Lance. He sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I just got pissed off that he keeps trying to feed me those stupid snack cakes when I frown. I’m sick of them and we still have three boxes of the fucking things…”

“And your mood swings are acting up.”

“I know…” Muttered Lance. His bottom lip started to quiver and fat tears started to roll down his cheeks. “My mood swings are pretty bad this week… Look at me, I’m just crying for no fucking reason… I need to ask Slav for medication when I see him again. I’m just… I’m a real mess aren’t I?”

“Yep. At least you admit that you’re fucked up.”

Lance nodded and rubbed his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying. “Keith’s going to freak out if he finds out I’ve been crying… I need to talk to him about stuff, don’t I?”

“Yep.”

“Damn it…”

***

Lance didn’t want to do this, but he had to. If Keith was starting to feel like he was being mean to him, then Lance had to set things straight. He waited in their nest that night and waited for Keith to come back from whatever demon activities he was doing that day.

When the demon eventually made an appearance, he climbed into the nest and lightly nuzzled the side of Lance’s neck a few times. “How was your day?” He asked Lance.

“Fine I guess… You know, one of the symptoms of my mental illness is that I get massive mood swings, right?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah.”

“And you know if I get angry at you it’s not your fault, right? It’s my stupid brain putting me in such a horrible mood. My mind is sick, Keith… Very sick… I’m trying to get better, but it’s hard sometimes… Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Kind of?” The demon looked a little confused, but he was absorbing everything that Lance was saying.

Lance sighed a little and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. “What I’m saying is that I shouldn’t have snapped at you the other day and you don’t have to change yourself to make me like you more. I like you enough. I like you more than enough. You’re beautiful and perfect the way you are. I swear.”

Keith closed his eyes and tilted his head into Lance’s hand. “Really? I can still look nice for you.”

“You look fine the way you are.” Reassured Lance. “I’m not going to treat you any differently no matter what you wear… As long as you don’t wear the skin of the people you eat…”

The demon wrinkled his nose at that thought. “Ew. Gross.”

Lance chuckled a little. “Glad we’re on the same page there… But seriously, I like how you look now.”

Keith quietly looked up at him. He seemed a little doubtful. “Really? You don’t think I’d look nicer if I wore gold chains in my horns, or rings?”

Lance shrugged. “You can do that if you like, but don’t do it for me. Do it for you. If wearing gold chains would make you feel good then do it.”

“... Okay.” Keith held Lance’s hand and gently kissed the palm of his hand. “Are you sure I didn’t do anything?”

“I’m sure.” Lance leaned in and kissed Keith softly on the lips. “I love you Keith… When I next see Slav I’m going to ask him to put me on medication. It should help me with my mood swings and other things… Also, I’m sick of eating snack cakes…”

“O-oh… Sorry…” Keith nervously. “I’m not good at making you feel better am I?”

“You’re doing your best.” Said Lance. “I really appreciate it, but seriously I’m going to get fat if you keep trying to feed me those.”

“... Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He lightly pinched Keith’s cheeks and pouted at him. “Unless… do you have a secret fat fetish or something?”

“Huh?”

“You want to fatten me up and make me all chubby to get your rocks off?”

If this was a comic strip Lance just knew several giant question marks would have been popping up above Keith’s head. He looked so confused and every word Lance said seemed to add to the poor demon’s confusion. “What? Fatten you up? Rocks? What are you babbling about? I’m not going to eat you. Why would I fatten you up?”

“You eat my ass like no tomorrow.”

“... But that isn’t actually eating.” Said Keith. “I’m sticking my tongue in your ass. If anything it’s more like I’m tasting your ass rather than actually eating it. Eating involves chewing and swallowing… I don’t want to eat you.”

Lance couldn’t help but find Keith’s earnest behaviour endearing. He chuckled and started to run his fingers through Keith’s hair. The demon let out a small trill. It melted Lance’s heart. “I know you don’t want to eat me. You just want to make me feel good, right?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. I do… I’m trying to make you feel good in other ways besides sex, but yeah, I’m not good at it.”

“I know… Remember when I took you and Shiro to that amusement park?”

“Yeah?”

“Want to do something like that again?” Asked Lance. “Like, just the two of us. They have a new seal exhibit at the aquarium. I think you’ll like it, maybe?”

Keith nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. I’d really like that. Can we do that tomorrow?”

“The day after tomorrow. I have to see Slav tomorrow about getting beds for my head and everything.” 

Hearing that made Keith pout. “Oh...”

“But the day after that we can go.” Said Lance as he ran his cuddled Keith. “We can spend the whole day together. Just you and me and the seals.”

In turn, the demon held him close and ran his claws through Lance’s hair. “Okay... What are seals?”

Lance chuckled at hearing that. “You know what a dog looks like? So kind of imagine that, but instead of back legs they have a kind of fish tail and flippers instead of arms. So, kind of like a water dog.”

Keith frowned a little as he tried to come up with an image of a dog with flippers and a fish tail. “Huh… Alright?”

“It’ll make more sense when you see them.”

“Okay.” He pulled Lance a little closer and started to spoon him while nuzzling his neck. Lance wouldn’t admit it, but he really enjoyed how affectionate some of Keith’s demon behaviour was. It was very sweet. It might have still been Keith’s kit tendencies, he was only technically just an adult after all. Shiro still called him kit, and occasionally Allura and Coran would call Keith a kit too, much to his annoyance. 

Lance smiled softly as he put his hands on Keith’s. This was, okay. He talked with Keith and had made things better between them. Maybe? He hoped so. He really did. If Keith still wanted to dress up a bit he’d help him with that, but only if it was for him and not to get his attention. Lance already thought Keith was perfect the way he was.

***

When Lance told Slav that he needed to start taking medication for his PTSD the therapist didn’t seem very convinced that he needed it. “You’ve made big improvements without the need for it. It might be overkill taking medication now.”

“But my emotions are out of control.” Said Lance. “One second I’m fine, and then I’m angry, and then I can’t stop crying.”

The fae sighed a little and rubbed their eyes as they seemed to think everything over. “Do you feel more irritable than you have before and are you still avoiding things that remind you of what happened?”

“... Kind of.”

“Have you found that you’ve started drinking more to cope, or maybe you’ve started doing drugs?”

Lance shrugged. “I have been drinking a bit more these days…” Though that was mainly to try and wipe the memory of a young, time traveling Marcello walking around the house. “But only a little more…”

“I see… So what colour are your socks today?”

Lance frowned and looked down at his feet. “Dark blue.”

Slav sighed and took out a prescription pad. “Okay, I’m going to start you out on one pill a day. One pill. Take it in the morning, with water. But no dairy for two hours after you take it. If you need coffee you can have black or tea. Just no milk. Nothing with lactose in it at all, for two hours. Understood?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Good. Now, I believe you mentioned you know Allura and Coran? Take the prescription to them to get it filled. You have three repeats and I cannot stress this enough; just because you feel better does not mean you should stop taking them. Finish it. Understood?”

Lance nodded and took the paper from him. “Sure thing doc. I’ll go and do that now.” He left Slav’s office and went to fill out his prescription. He hoped that there weren’t any major side effects.


	25. Aquarium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a cute fluffy chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When Keith found out an aquarium was a place where sea animals were. It really irked Keith to say the least. But Lance was really excited, so Keith would put up with it. The place smelled weird and kind of salty. Lance seemed very hyper about this. They quickly got their tickets and went inside.

Lance quickly pointed out some of the displays. From what Keith could gather the place was set up so it all flowed from the rivers to the ocean, whatever that meant. He let Lance babble on and on about what was happening and why it was happening. He didn’t know why, but Lance seemed a little hyper about it. He loved looking at the frogs and happily pointed them out to Keith.

“Do you have things like this?” He asked Keith. “Frogs are really cute. They are kind of slimy but they have to be because they are amphibians and oh my god I can’t stop talking help.”

“...” Keith put his hand over Lance’s mouth and gave him a confused look. “Are you okay?”

Lance gave him a look that said he clearly wasn’t. He dug around in his pocket and took a bottle out, showing it to Keith. Keith looked at the bottle and read it, since it was written in a few different languages, including infernal.

_Essence of laurel capsules 100mg 38 capsules_   
_Take one capsule per day. *Avoid dairy two hours after taking*_   
_Side effects may include but are not limited to; dry mouth, salivating, uncontrollable word vomit, IBS, coughing up feathers and or crabs, vines growing out nostrils, and invisibility._

“... You took one of these today?”

Lance nodded quickly.

“And now you won’t stop talking?”

Lance shrugged and nodded. He took the bottle back from Keith and tucked it back into his pocket.

Keith sighed a little. “Well, if you can’t stop talking that’s not such a bad thing right? Like, it’s not like you’re coughing up crabs or feathers. That could be hard to explain… Humans don’t cough up that kind of stuff do that?”

Lance quickly shook his head before he dared to start speaking again. “I am so sorry I didn’t know this was going to happen. Just talking, talking, talking until I’m just going blue in the face. This is so stupid and embarrassing. I have no idea what I’m meant to do now. Like, I mean, I’m just, my mouth is just moving and I have no idea what I’m saying really. It’s so weird I-”

Keith quickly kissed him again. “Maybe I can kiss you if you can shut up?”

Lance nodded in agreement and they continued to walk with Keith. He pointed out a few different animals here and there. Keith was actually very interested in what Lance was saying, though he had to quickly kiss Lance on the lips every once in a while to shut up when it looked like he wasn’t going to stop talking to breathe.

His ramblings seemed to slow down a little by the time they started to look at the reef creatures. Lance actually managed to shut himself up when he was talking about clownfish.

“Did you know all clownfish are born as males? Like when the dominant female of the group dies the largest male will turn itself into a female.”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool. There are some demons like that… Though they are more like little cave dwelling things. Generally didn’t bother me, but if they swarm, they can pick you clean in seconds.”

“... Huh. That’s pretty creepy.” He pointed to a weird looking pink squishy thing covered in hundreds of squiggly tentacle things. “Well, clownfish live in anemone. They have stingers so you can’t touch them with your hands. They are really cool… They poop out of their mouths.”

“I don’t know what to do with that information.”

“Me either… Pretty colours though.”

“True.” Keith did like the colours. Okay, if there were places like this out in the ocean then maybe, just maybe he would go swimming in the ocean with Lance. Though he didn’t really care about it that much. He wanted Lance to be happy. Also, he was happy with the fact Lance had stopped rambling. While he did like kissing Lance it became less special if he had to do it to get him to shut up. At least Lance wasn’t coughing up crabs.

They got to a long pool filled with sea stuff. There were a few children up one end sticking their hands in the water. Lance grinned and nudged Keith. “Wanna touch some stuff too?”

Keith frowned and looked at the stuff with a skeptical eye. “What the fuck is that stuff?”

“Oh don’t swear. There are kids around.” Lance rolled up his sleeves and stuck his hand into the water, gently running his fingers over a weird looking star looking thing. “Come on Keith. Pat the starfish. They feel like velvet.”

“... It won’t bite me will it?”

“No.”

Keith frowned but reluctantly stuck his hand into the pool and gave the starfish a firm poke.

“Gently.” Said Lance. “You gotta pat them gently… And you can’t take anything out of the water. Suddenly a huge flat pancake swam by Keith’s hand he quickly retracted his hand. Keith wanted to hiss and growl at the flying pancake. Lance just seemed to coo and pat the pancake. “Cute little ray.”

“Ray?”

“Yeah. A stingray.”

“... So not some fucked up flying pancake?”

Lance snorted and patted it a few more times. “A flying pancake? More like a swimming pancake. They are really sweet. At least the ones used to people. The ones here love getting pats. Wanna pat him?”

Keith glared at sting ray and pouted. “No… I like starfish better.”

“Did you know starfish eat by extending their stomachs out of their mouths over the digestible parts of their prey?”

“... I hate starfish more than stingrays. Where are the seals?”

“Kit.” Teased Lance. He dried his hands on the paper towels provided on the wall and held Keith’s hand. He happily led him towards where the seals were. To get there they had to pass through a long glass tunnel.

Keith couldn’t help but stare in awe as a giant stingray swam under them, and a giant fish with a set of angry looking teeth swam above them. “What’s that?”

“Nurse shark.” Said Lance. “They look scary but they aren’t that bad.”

“... This is why I don’t like the ocean.”

Lance chuckled a little, but then frowned. “Hmm…”

“What?”

“My mouth is really dry… I need to get a bottle of water or something.”

“Oh, okay. Dry mouth I guess?”

“Yeah…” They continued to walk through the tunnel and when they got to the other side Keith was faced with a huge glass wall with some weird, fat flippered thing with a dog face. “The fuck?”

“It’s a seal.” Said Lance with a grin. “A monk seal.” He pulled Keith towards the glass and put his hand against it. “Isn’t it cute?

“... It’s something, I’ll give it that.” Muttered Keith. Seals did have sweet looking faces, but why were they so round? He didn’t quite get that. Seals were… they were odd. But at least Lance was happy. That was the main thing. He jumped a little in surprise when the seal swam up to their faces and had a look at them.

“You think it knows we aren’t fully human?” Asked Lance.

Keith shrugged. “Some animals can sense it… Maybe he doesn’t like us?”

“If he doesn’t like us he could just swim away. Maybe he’s just curious? Maybe.” Lance smiled at the seal and moved his hand around in a circular motion. The seal followed Lance’s hand and rolled around a few times before it swam back up to the surface.

“Huh…”

Lance smiled up at the seal and watched it swim away. Keith couldn’t help but smile at Lance. Just seeing him smile made Keith very happy. Lance was his whole world now… and for some reason that made him feel incredibly small. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because there were so many people in Lance’s life compared to his? He wasn’t sure.

***

Okay, Lance’s mouth was drier than the time he thought it would be a good idea to do the cinnamon challenge. At least he'd stopped talking so much. He’d have to talk to Allura or Coran about this when he next saw them.

He brushed his arm up against Keith’s and felt feelings of self doubt and a bit of anxiety. He didn’t know what was going through Keith’s head at the moment. Maybe he was worried about him or the weird side effects his medication was having on him? It had only been a few hours since he started taking them.

Lance wasn’t very sure what he could do to make Keith feel better. Maybe he just didn’t really like going out to the aquarium? He wasn’t really sure. He was a little distracted by the fact that his mouth felt like it was turning to dust at the moment. He spotted someone selling drinks and snacks.

He lightly bumped his hip against Keith’s. “I’m getting a drink. Do you want anything? A drink? Snacks?”

“Um… I’ll go with you.”

They walked over and had a look at what was available at the little snack kiosk. Lance ended up getting himself a water and some jelly babies. He bought Keith a bottle of vanilla coke since he was intrigued by the black, white, and red coloring. This logic was also applied when choosing Keith’s snack. In other words he bought the demon some maltesers.

While Keith didn’t really eat human food he did seem to appreciate the crunch that came with this type of chocolate. Which made Lance grin. When Keith tried the coke he shuddered and looked like he had seen a ghost. 

“... Fizzy.”

Lance laughed. “No shit. It’s like that orange stuff you drank ages ago. Remember? With the pizza?”

“... Didn’t expect it to be this fizzy. I do not know if I like this or not.”

Lance grinned and offered him his water. “Want to swap?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“... Thanks.” Keith quickly took the water from Lance and took a sip. He looked a lot better after drinking the water. It made Lance smile. They looked around at a few more fish and by the time they had finished their drinks and snacks, they were at the gift shop.

They started to have a look around and Lance was instantly drawn to anything and everything shark related. They didn’t have any great white sharks at the aquarium, but they always seemed to have hundreds of great white related things. That or hammer heads. He wished he could have found a nurse shark plushie.

As he looked through the shark stuff he glanced over at Keith and saw him looking over at the demon who was looking at all the freshwater stuff. He was holding up a small, squeaky mudskipper.

Lance walked over to his and lightly nudged him. “What are you looking at?”

“Weird squeaky thing. The fuck is this? Looks like a fish frog thing?”

“It’s a mudskipper.” Said Lance. “It’s a fish that lives in the water but can come on land. It’s pretty cool.”

“... They live on land and in the ocean?”

“Well, mangroves, but yeah.”

“... Cool.” He gave the fish toy a thoughtful look. “Kind of like a chimera…”

“Oh if you want to see a real earth chimera I have to show you this.” He held Keith’s hand and pulled him to the front of the store where some bins were full of more freshwater animals. “Now, this exhibit was closed today, but they still have these for the kids.” He reached into one of the bins and pulled out a platypus. “Behold, the earth chimera. The body and tail of a beaver, the bill of a duck, and the venom of a snake.”

Keith stared at the platypus in fascination. He took the toy from Lance and stared at it for a few minutes. He made a small pleased trill and nodded. “A chimera. Where do they live?”

“Australia.”

“Australia… Can you keep these as pets?”

“No.”

“... Can I have this?”

“Sure. I’ll go and pay for it.”

Keith nodded and gave it back to Lance to pay for. When Lance paid for it he went to give it back to Keith but he was gone. Lance frowned and quickly looked around the gift shop. That demon boy couldn’t have gotten too far. He did a quick lap of the shop in case Keith had ducked down behind something. 

Eventually Lance spotted Keith’s mullet at the register. Somehow they had walked off and wandered back. They probably thought they lost him and was asking the cashier if they saw him leave. But no, Keith had bought something. He had bought several somethings. Enough for him to have a large bag of stuff.

Lance was still a little surprised that Keith had money now. “...Huh. What did you buy?”

Keith held up the bag and pushed it to Lance. “For you… You liked the shark stuff, right? Sharks?”

Lance was touched. He took the bag and inside were a few shark books and some other shark related stuff. “Thank you Keith. That’s really sweet of you.” He handed over the platypus. “You want your chimera?”

Keith nodded and grabbed the platypus from Lance and stared at it fondly. “Chimera…” He muttered softly.

It was sweet. Lance wasn’t too sure why Keith felt a strong bond with the platypus, but he was glad that he was feeling more positive energy coming off of Keith now. He held Keith’s hand and the two of them left the aquarium.

***

Later that evening Keith was happily laying in the nest as he watched the stuffed platypus. It was a chimera. An earth chimera. Probably not as dangerous as an actual chimera, but it was trying its best and it seemed really cool. He ran his fingers over its back and over its tail. He really wanted to have a real one.

The real one probably hissed and growled, or something. He wanted one so badly, but if Lance said he couldn’t have one, then maybe there was a good reason for it? Probably. A demon could still dream though.

Shiro walked into the room and sat next to the nest. “So, how was your date to the aquarium?”

“It was interesting.” Said Keith. “Aquariums are places where fish are.”

“Huh, alright.” Shiro looked down at the toy on the nest. “What’s that?”

“It’s called a platypus.” Said Keith. “It’s an earth chimera.”

“Oh cool.” Shiro stared at it for a few minutes. “So you guys had fun?”

“I think so… Lance is on some medication for his PTSD. Made him talk a lot for a few minutes and then he had a really, really, dry mouth.”

“I see… Well I’m glad you guys had fun.”

“Thanks.” Keith sat up and smiled. “I think things are going to work out… How are things with you and Adam?”

Shiro shrugged. “Well, we’re still dating so that’s a thing… We’re going to see a movie tomorrow and go to a hotel after…”

“You two gonna fuck?”

Shiro blushed and quickly looked away. “No… I um… I just… Maybe. Probably… I don’t know if I can do this…”

“Why?” Asked Keith. “Still too early?”

Shiro shook his head. “No. Adam is… Adam is a complete freak in bed! The first time we had sex decades ago he wanted us to do it while I was still a Manticore!”

Keith went completely red. He did not expect to hear that. “Um, what?”

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable doing it as a manticore. It was a spare of the moment thing before and I was young and stupid! Now, I’m old and stupid! I don’t want to hurt him or disappoint him!”

Keith grabbed a pillow and hit Shiro in the face with it. “I don’t wanna hear it! Shut up! I don’t go talking about my sex life with Lance! Just talk to him about it! Not me! Shut up!”

Shiro huffed and quickly took a step back. “Hey! I need some help! Lance is human and you’re a demon.”

“... Yes?” He didn’t like where this was going.

“Does Lance prefer you being more a human or a demon when you’re having sex?”

“... OUT! NOW! GET OUT!” Keith chased Shiro out of the room as fast as he could, almost slamming the door shut on the Manticore’s tail as he did so. “... Rude.”


	26. Spontaneity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance makes a decision. Keith does not like this decision... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance and Keith ended up going to the Mamora coven for a bit more training by Krolia. She was pleased with the bond that the two had established. She felt like it wouldn’t get any stronger unless they decided that Keith should become Lance’s familiar.Keith still felt like that was too soon and a much too big a commitment. Lance wasn’t really sure what he meant by that, but he respected his wishes.

They did some exercises before Krolia decided to do some more one on one time while Keith just wandered around their stronghold. Krolia took Lance back to her room so they could have a more private conversation.

Lance settled down on a chair and Krolia smiled at him. “So how are things going?”

“It’s… Things are okay.”

“There’s no need to lie Lance. We are both empaths here.”

Lance sighed a little. “Well… I got in touch with Lotor a little while ago.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he kind of wants me to become the new god of his coven so… there’s that. Also Marcello’s younger self has been walking around stealing stuff from my house, and turns out the guy Shiro is dating is actually an Iscariot.”

Krolia stared at Lance in shock. “... You lead a very interesting life, don’t you?”

“Yep…” Lance sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh and my new medication for my PTSD either makes me talk too much or my mouth goes really dry.”

“A very interesting life.”

“Yeah… Can you give me some advice? Please?”

Krolia frowned and thought for a moment. “Well, keep taking your medicine for starters. Try to ignore and not interact with Marcello. If you mess around with the timeline things could get really weird. There is a reason most people have the sense not to mess with the timeline… I’d still keep an eye on the Iscariot. I’ve never heard of an Iscariot that’s abandoned their duty.”

“Yeah… Okay.” Lance kind of assumed she might say something like that. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

“Is there something wrong with Keith?” She asked in concern. “He just… He seems really odd.”

Lance shrugged. “He’s just been a little strange. He’s still worried about being part angel, I think… I’ve been a little distracted with what was going on with me to really get too deep into what Keith’s been worried about… I mean, he isn’t freaking out and hurting himself or anyone else so… I don’t know.” He felt bad for not paying attention to Keith. He was trying to make himself better.

“... You’re not bad for wanting to make yourself better.” Krolia sighed and just looked sad. “I haven’t been able to find anything to help Keith. Pretty much the only thing I’ve found out about angel and demon offspring is that they tend to take on more demonic traits… There’s nothing else after that. Not really… I wish I could be more useful to him.”

“Same…” Lance frowned a little as he thought about this. “So… Theoretically could a demon know about that?”

Krolia shrugged. “Possibly, but it would have to be a pretty high up demon… Oh, I think I know of one…”

“Yeah?”

“Blood wraiths.”

“... Are they friendly?”

“As long as they aren’t startled they are generally pretty placid.” Said Krolia. “... Are you planning on going to Hell?”

“I guess I am.”

Krolia sighed and shook her head. “Well, I guess if you are going to go to hell you should take Keith with you… One of us should go with you. You’ll have to read up on blood wraiths. Don’t do it before you know what is going on… Hell is… It’s not a place you go to for a picnic.”

“Fair enough.” Lance didn’t really know what to expect in hell, but he did wonder what Hell would be like. Keith did talk pretty highly of it, though most people did talk highly of their homeland, usually. “Do you think Keith would be happy about going back to Hell? Maybe I should just take Shiro?”

“Keith might not be your familiar, but he will know if you aren’t in this reality.”

Lance frowned slightly at that. Keith probably wouldn’t want him to go to hell. He was kind of all about keeping him safe and happy at the moment. One might argue that going to hell wasn’t a thing that would make him safe and happy.

But fuck it. When was Lance ever the one to make smart decisions. “Okay… Let’s go and find Keith.” 

The demon was easy enough to find. He had somehow managed to piss off Thace and had climbed up into a corner of the ceiling. He was hissing and spitting at the witch while Thace was trying to poke him down off the roof with a stick.

“Get down her you little demonic shit!” He growled.

“Make me!” Snapped Keith.

Krolia rolled her eyes as she watched this unfold. “Is Keith like this normally?”

“To be fair he’s wearing pants this time so it’s a vast improvement.” Noted Lance.

“Ah yes… Most demons have a deep aversion to clothes for some reason… I think it’s a mobility issue. Akira really hated pants, but did wear a tunic for me when I asked him too.” Said Krolia. She sighed with a nostalgic look on her face. “I wish I had some photos of him… He was so handsome.”

“... You need a minute?”

“No, I’m good… I think Keith needs our help though.”

Keith had grabbed the stick with his mouth and ripped it out of Thace’s hands. He then proceeded to try and hit Thace back with it while hissing menacingly at him. Thace was having none of it and was still trying to pull him off the ceiling.

“I will throw a fireball at you!”

“HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!”

“Should we do something?” Asked Lance.

“One of them will give up eventually.”

Thace eventually screamed in frustration and stormed off. In an act of triumph, Keith happily smashed the stick and grinned. He then noticed that Krolia and Lance were in the room. “... Oh. Hi?”

Lance waved up at him. “Hey. Crazy question for you buddy. How do you feel about giving me a little tour or Hell?”

***

Keith argued with Lance the entire way back to their house about how going to Hell was a very, very bad idea. For one, Keith wasn’t exactly a top predator. Middle of the road at best. Smaller demons he could beat the shit out of them, but anything bigger, like a dragon… That would be a problem.

“Seriously, why did you think going to Hell is a good idea?” Asked Keith.

“I’m going to study first.” 

“Study or not, hell is bad.” Said Keith. “How are you even going to get to hell? By opening the fucking gate?”

“Shiro’s been able to go between here and hell for centuries by slipping through cracks.” Said Lance. “Also, I have a crack in my backyard. Remember? It’s in the shed.”

Keith remembered. Just out of curiosity he had attempted to push his way through the crack. It was difficult. He was pretty sure Shiro was only able to do it because he was a manticore. He was made of some strong stuff. Still, he didn’t really like the whole idea of going to hell.

“You still shouldn’t do it.” Said Keith. “It’s just… No… There’s a lot of stuff that you really… It’s really, really dangerous. Why do you want to go to hell anyway?”

“I want to talk to the blood wraiths.”

Keith stared at Lance like his head just exploded and some weird parasite crawled out of it. “Are you insane? Why not just cover yourself in barbeque sauce and walk up to a dragon! It’s suicide! Suicide!” 

“Krolia said they used to be angels.” Said Lance. “I just want to talk to them about how they deal with being demons that used to be angels.”

“Can’t you just summon one?” Asked Keith.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Keith, I have no idea how to unsummon a demon. That’s kind of why I never sent you back to hell before we got together.”

“... Oh yeah… I’ll um… I’ll talk to Shiro about it.” Muttered Keith. “I’ll figure something out…”

“Thanks.” He kissed Keith’s cheek and smiled at him. “I’m going to go to the library to study up on hell and blood wraiths.” He happily walked to the library while Keith quickly ran off to find Shiro. If there was anyone that could convince him that this was a bad idea, it was him.

The Manticore was in his room. He was in the middle of grooming himself when Keith walked in. He grinned at him and happily invited Keith to join with the grooming. Keith happily did so and happily ran his claws through Shiro’s mane while the manticore happily groomed Keith when it was his turn. It was nice and comforting

“So what are you up to now?” Asked Shiro.

Keith frowned a little and nervously looked around. “Lance wants to go to hell.”

“What?”

“To talk to blood wraiths.”

“... Is Lance okay?”

“I have no idea anymore! But he really wants to talk to a blood wraith… I’m really worried about this. He doesn’t understand how dangerous hell is. Earth is practically wrapped in cotton compared to hell! A blood wraith! A fucking blood wraith!”

The last time Keith had seen a blood wraith was during that brief period of time when he and Shiro were up in the mountains. They had chased their prey up there and happily ate it before deciding to explore the area. They happened to come across some blood wraiths. They were extremely thin and tall. They were like wispy pieces of tall grass. They glided along the ground, leaving behind a slight blood trail. 

They were creepy and Keith instantly disliked them. Shiro had told him that it was a kit’s natural instinct to identify dangerous demons that could hurt or kill him. Which was why Keith would shy away from these demons but would happily pick up any bug he saw and ate it. It took Shiro decades to get Keith to stop that and hunt better food.

“Do you want me to try and convince Lance not to go?” Asked Shiro.

Keith nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Stop him! Be the voice of reason!”

Shiro shrugged and stretched out in his nest. “I don’t see how I can. Lance is going to do what Lance is going to do. Best we can do is be guides for him. Understand?”

“Yeah… I guess...” Keith pouted. He did not like this at all. “He shouldn’t do this. It’s too dangerous. He wants to talk to blood wraiths because they were supposedly angels, or like had angel ancestry? It’s too dangerous.”

“... You’re really scared about him getting hurt, aren’t you?”

Keith nodded. He couldn’t help but worry. “Lance already died once… I can’t let that happen again. Okay? He’s… I don’t want him to die. If he died I just… There isn’t really anything we can do to help him come back from getting murdered… And humans are all fragile! Like, super fragile! He could get really hurt! I don’t want him to get hurt…”

Shiro frowned and nuzzled Keith. “Calm down. We’ll both go with him and make sure nothing bad happens to him, and if something bad does happen we will both be there to get him out of there. Okay?”

“... Okay.” Keith was still not happy about this.

***

Lance had made himself comfortable in the library and was happily looking through books about hell while contemplating how he was a little bit too impulsive these days. He wouldn’t be surprised if self destructive tendencies were a part of PTSD. He had no idea. He’d have to ask Slav about it later. Until then he had books about hell to read.

_Hell, like earth, has many different ecosystems which have allowed for many different versions of hell. There are many places in hell where temperatures are well below livable temperatures and well above it too. There are many swamps, forests and barren wastelands. It is both beautiful and horrific._

With that basic introduction to Hell, Lance went to see what he could find out about blood wraiths. Surprisingly the information was a little hard to find. It didn’t seem like they interacted with the human realm that much.

_Blood wraiths are found around barren mountains, though if they do wander into flat lants they will attempt to climb onto the highest point they can find. They generally do not interact with anyone and those that have summoned blood wraiths have found them to be uninterested with communication or completely mute._

_The best way to win their favour is to present them with a fresh, living, blood supply. In this way they seem to be some kind of precursor to vampires, but as far as research is concerned this probably isn’t the case. They will feed off their sacrifice, completely sucking all the moisture out of the body, mummifying it. After that, they will talk, but be respectful and cautious. They will turn at any second and suck your body completely dry._

Maybe Lance could invest in a few chickens for them to eat? He was good with that. Either that or maybe get Keith to kidnap another neckbeard and just hand them over to see if they have any information on angels. It made him chuckle a little at that dark thought. Then again they would probably reject it and eat him. Which would be fair.

_The mountains they inhabit tend to be dry, usually without snow. They prefer dry places over humid or damp. That being said they can be found in very snow places, but they tend to live in the caves within the mountains if there is too much snow. They are a very mysterious species and shouldn’t be messed with unless it is absolutely necessary._

Yeah, it was kind of official. Lance was making a supid spontaneous decision, again. The scary thing though, was that he really didn’t care. Not one bit. Not at all. That was probably a bit of an issue.

Pidge walked into the library and dumped some books off. She looked over at Lance and waved. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Sup?”

“Nothing much. Planning on going to hell to talk to a species of demons that used to be angels to help Keith with whatever weird species dysmorphia he’s going through. You?”

“... Huh. I was cleaning up my room.” She said. “It’s kind of turning into a hoarders nest.”

“Yeah, if we get rats because of you I am not going to be happy.”

“Me either.” She walked over to him, frowning. “So, you really going to hell?”

“Yep.”

“... Bring me back something?”

Lance grinned and shot her some finger guns. “You got it Pidge. I’ll bring you and Hunk back something cool.”

“Neat.”


	27. Blood wraith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wise words from a blood wraith as the boys descend into the wonderful realm of hell. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Their way to hell was in the shed. In the shed was a large rock with a dark red crack etched into the stone. It looked kind of like someone had punched a windscreen, but stone. Lance stood in front of it and just had a strange feeling deep within his guts. It was kind of like that strange sense of vertigo he would experience when he stood at the edge of the cliff. It made him feel sick.

They had made plans to go to hell and Lance kind of felt like he was ready. He still had his magic gun with unlimited ammo, so he wasn’t completely unarmed. Plus Keith and Shiro were practically living weapons, so he should die instantly.

Keith stood next to Lance, gently squeezing his hand. “You sure you want to do this? Did you bring food and water for yourself?”

“Yeah. I’m good. So how do we get through the stone to get to hell?” Asked Lance as he adjusted his backpack. He still wasn’t sure how this worked.

“You have to push through.” Said Shiro. “Takes a bit of effort, but you can do it. Hold on tight to my tail.” He shoulder barged the crack in the rock, very slowly pushing the hardened pieces of rock out of the way, giving way to more glowing reds. Lance grabbed Shiro’s tail with both arms. Keith grabbed Lance with one arm and Shiro’s tail with the other, bracing them both. 

Shiro shoulder barged the stone again and forced his way through. It was like being sucked through a vacuum. The wind got knocked out of Lance’s lungs as he was pulled through. Seconds later Shiro skidded to a halt, digging his claws into the ground. Lance’s legs gave out but Keith held him tight.

“You okay Lance?” Asked Keith in concern.

“Y-yeah. I think so?” Lance let go of Shiro’s tail and took a moment to collect himself. Just traveling from one realm to another was enough to make his head spin. When Lance finally got his barings he took some time to look around.

They were in the middle of a field with long strands of purple grass that brushed against his thighs. The sky was a scorched red with unnatural looking creatures fluttering in the sky. Some of them looked more bird-like than others. It was kind of intimidating but at the same time, oddly beautiful.

“Whoa… So this is hell?” Asked Lance. “I know I read some stuff about what hell is like, but this is… It’s kind of nice?”

“I’d hope so.” Said Shiro. “We lived here. Okay, you two climb on my back. We have a bit of a run to get to the mountains. Would be easier if we could fly, but we’ll get there in plenty of time.”

Keith climbed onto Shiro’s back and pulled Lance up with him. Lance made no protest as Keith took his backpack and sat him so that he was right in front of Shiro’s mane with Keith firmly pressed against his back. Lance was okay with this. It was kind of nice to be this close to the two of them. Though once he was seated comfortably, Keith pushed his full weight onto his back. He ended up with a mouth full or fur.

“K-Keith?”

“Sorry. Gotta make sure you don’t fall off. Shiro’s pretty fast when he runs. You have to hold on really tight.”

“Yeah.” Agreed Shiro. “You really have to dig your hands in Don’t worry about it hurting me. Pulling my mane doesn’t hurt. Just make sure you don’t fall off.”

“I have a good grip on him.” Said Keith as he lightly nuzzled Lance’s neck. “Just let us know when you need to take a rest.”

“Sure. Hold on.” 

Lance could feel Shiro’s muscles tighten for a split second before hr broke into a sprint. It was a lot faster than Lance had ever traveled. It was almost painful the way the wind flew past his face. He ended up burying his face in Shiro’s mane to protect his face. Keith pressing himself against his body made Lance feel safe and secure. He didn’t realise how quickly the manticore could run.

It felt like forever before Shiro started to slow down. “Okay… I need to rest for a while. I’m not used to running that much…”

“It’s okay. You got us pretty far, Shiro.” Keith slipped off of Shiro’s back and Lance did the same. 

They were at the bottom of a mountain made of a cold blue stone. The trees that dotted the bottom of the mountain looked like they were covered in ice crystals. It looked kind of pretty. Lance kind of wanted to reach out and touch them, but he wasn’t sure if he would get murdered or not.

Shiro let out a loud groan and he stretched and rolled his shoulders. “Been so long since I’ve gone for a run like that.”

“Yeah.” Keith stretched and looked around. “I’m thirsty. Think there’s any water around?”

“I can smell water, so probably.” Said Shiro. “I’m thirsty too.” 

Lance took his backpack from Keith and looked through his bag. “You guys want some?”

The demons quickly declined. “It’s better if you keep it.” Said Shiro. “The water here is pretty much contaminated. We’re good with drinking it, but you would definitely die from something if you drank it.”

“Found some water!” Called Keith. He was crouching over and rock and looking down at something. 

Shiro and Lance walked over to where he was and it did look like some kind of water. It was kind of green and yellow. It did not look drinkable. The demons on the other hand seemed to think this was a perfectly normal looking water and happily went down to drink it. Lance felt like he should say something, but they were happy? Lance just ignored this and drank his own water.

Despite the more relaxed mood, Keith and Shiro kept looking over their shoulders. Which, in turn, made Lance slightly paranoid. He was in hell after all. “So… You guys looking out for anything special?”

“Just the trees.” Said Shiro. “They might look pretty but some of them are alive. They like grabbing people and sucking the warmth out of their body… They are slow, but you have to keep your wits about you.”

“Right… Everything wants to kill you in hell…”

“No more so than everything on earth.” Said Keith as he drank some more green water. Which was kind of true. If Lance did actually think about it he could see what Keith meant. Earth could be pretty damn horrifying. However he was pretty sure there weren’t any crystal trees that sucked the warmth out of everyone.

Once the demons had finished their water and started to walk up the mountain. Lance stayed on Shiro’s right and Keith stayed on his left. It was interesting walking up the mountain, though Lance was a little worried about not having a live offering to give the blood wraiths. The demons didn’t seem phased by it and said they could easily find something.

Lance trusted them as they continued to walk up, and eventually, through the mountain. Walking through the mountain, Lance couldn’t help but look at all of the stone architecture that was there. Very worn away, but it was there. He didn’t know what used to live here, but it didn’t seem like they were living there anymore.

“Um… So people used to live here, huh?” Asked Lance as they walked over a bridge over a gap in the mountain. Below them was just a cavern of what Lance could only describe as instant death.

“Probably dwarves.” Said Keith. “This place seems very dwarf-like.”

“And how would you know what dwarven architecture looks like?” Asked Shiro. “Most dwarves live on earth.”

“Well fuck you too.” Grumbled Keith. “What the hell do you think lives in here?”

“... Ice ghouls?”

“What is with you and ghouls?”

Hearing the two of them bicker was kind of nice. It was an interesting distraction, until Lance saw the blood running out of the crack in some of the walls. He did point it out to the demons, but they just shrugged it off and said it was just mineral rich water. Lance did not believe them in the slightest.

They continued on, up and up. It started to get colder and Lance wished he’d brought along a jacket. He shivered a little and stuck closer to Shiro’s side until he was practically pressed against him.

Shiro quickly caught on. “Oh? Are you cold or something?”

Lance shrugged and rubbed his arms. “Yeah. Should have brought along a jacket.”

Keith climbed over Shiro and looked over at Lance. “You’re cold?”

“Yeah?”

“You should have said something.” Keith looked down at his own clothes and frowned. He wasn’t wearing a jacket by himself, but he took off his shirt and handed it to Lance. “Here?”

Lance chuckled a little. “Thanks but I’m good. Really.”

“You sure?” Asked Keith. “Demons are a lot better with extreme weather. I’m not even that cold.”

While Keith did look damn fine without his shirt on, Lance didn’t want him to get cold. “Nah, I’m good.” 

Keith pouted and put his shirt back on. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Lance was still kind of cold and really hoped that it didn’t get too much colder. He’d be in trouble if that was the case.

Eventually they walked through a cave and found some large, wet, slimy, white insects crawling along the walls. They were about the size of footballs. Before Lance could ask what they were, Keith jumped up and quickly grabbed two of them.

“Think this will be enough for the blood wraiths?” He asked.

Shiro shrugged and looked at the bugs. “Probably. I’d assume they eat snowbugs. Not much else up here.”

“I guess…” Keith looked down at the bugs and shook them until they curled up. “Well let’s keep going.”

“What are snowbugs?” Asked Lance.

Keith held one up. “These guys. They kind of just live here and eat what they can find. Guess that’s snow and stuff… Want to carry one?”

“Nah, I’m good…”

***

Keith didn’t really like how Lance was getting cold, or how much the stupid snowbugs were oozing slime on him. He just wanted to bite them and eat them already, but they weren’t for him. They were for the wraiths. If they could find one. He hoped he could find one soon. The ooze smelled like wet grass and he didn’t like it.

Eventually they managed to get out of the cave network and were back out in the open. They were outside under the red sky again. Keith was constantly glancing over at Lance to make sure he was okay. He was starting to shiver. Keith did not like this.

“Maybe we should try again later?” He suggested. “I don’t think we were prepared enough for this.”

Shiro looked over at Lance and shared a look with Keith that said he completely agreed. “Yeah. Sounds like a good idea.”

“What?” Asked Lance. “Why? We’re almost there, right?”

Shiro shrugged. “Well yeah, but you’re pretty cold. Getting cold isn’t really a problem for us but… I’m pretty sure that we watched some documentary where people lost their fingers…”

“You’re talking about frostbite.” Said Lance. “I’m not that cold for frostbite to sink in…”

Keith was about to argue and protest a little more, but he bit his tongue when he heard something kicking rocks away. The group paused and looked up at where the rocks fell from. An extremely thin and emaciated looking thing was very slowly wandering towards them. It was slowly swaying in the breeze as it moved and instantly sent a chill up his spine.

“Blood wraith…” Keith muttered. He looked down at the snowbugs and threw one at it. 

The bug hit the ground and slid across the stones. The blood wraith slowly moved towards the bug, and leaned over it. It swayed slightly before it wriggled and convulsed. Its body suddenly pulled itself open. It was like someone was stretching out a thick, bloody membrane and covered the insect like a sheet. A grotesque sucking noise filled the air, and Keith quickly threw the second bug at them. They quickly jumped off the first bug, now a shriveled up husk that blew away in the wind, and repeated the process.

When it was done feeding it pulled itself back together and became an extremely long, thin, grass-like twig again. It kind of had a head, but it was more of a slightly bigger bulge at the top of their body. It didn’t really have eyes or anything, but it was kind of there.

“What do you want?” It asked in a strange whispery voice. Keith was surprised it could speak, but then again it could be some kind of psychic projection. He wasn’t too sure.

“Um hi there.” Said Lance. “Um… So… We kind of came to ask you a question, if we can… And if we’re wrong we’ll just leave and not bother you again. No need to um… Do that to us, you know?”

They swayed as Lance talked. “What is your question little man?”

Lance seemed pretty nervous. “Um… So… I’ve heard that blood wraith’s used to be angels? Is that true or is that just a lie?”

The blood wraith swayed a little more before it answered. “Does it really matter what my ancestors were?”

That was not the answer any of them expected to hear. “So you’re not part angel?” Asked Keith.

“Whether I am or not doesn’t change what I am right now.” Said the wraith calmly in a monotone voice. “I am me. I am a blood wraith.”

“But your ancestors were angels?” Asked Keith. He was quickly becoming frustrated with how it was avoiding the question. “Were they angels or not?”

The blood wraith was quiet for an uncomfortably long time before it spoke again. “Yes. My ancestors were from the realm that goes by many names that mean paradise. However I fail to see what my heritage has to do with me now. Most seek us out for what we can do, not who we were.”

“... My ancestors were angels.” Said Keith. “I only just found out…”

Hearing that seemed to surprise the blood wraith. They leaned forward in what seemed like an attempt to get a better look at Keith. However, it had no eyes. Keith was pretty sure it had no eyes.

“... A sin-eater?” It questioned. “How quante. Your kind never really became as elevated as the rest of the early adopters of hell. You were a little late to the party.”

“... Yeah.” Muttered Keith. “Well excuse me if my kind of just appeared one day….”

“Is it troubling for you?” Asked the blood wraith. “To know your people were once angels that flew through the sky with ease only to have your wings clipped?”

Keith frowned a little and looked away from the blood wraith. He couldn’t even fly well in the first place when he had wings for those few months he had them. He didn’t miss flying. He just couldn’t figure out what he was meant to do with this new information.

The mountain suddenly shook. ‘What the fuck?!” Cried Lance as he grabbed hold of Shiro.

The blood wraith very slowly wandered over to the edge of the mountain. “The Legion have been making the mountain their home. They are… renovating. It is messy. Loud. Annoying. Getting back down is probably going to be more difficult than getting back up. Goodbye.” They spread their membrane out like wings and fell off the mountain. The slightest gust of wind sent them soaring into the air like a weird blood kite.

Another rumble brought Keith out of his surprise and quickly started to head back into the mountain. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”

“Right. Let’s move quickly.” Said Shiro. He quickly turned around and made his way back into the cave. 

As they quickly walked, Lance started to apologize. “I’m so sorry guys. I really thought that we might be able to get something useful out of that.”

“It’s fine Lance.” Said Keith. “Really. I’m just glad it didn’t attack us. A day where you don’t get attacked by something is a successful day in hell.”

“He’s right.” Confirmed Shiro. “Watch your step there, the floor looks unstable… And I don’t like the look of those stalactites either.” They eventually got through the winding caves and got back to the bridge. There was a large empty space on either side of the bridge. Once they got over the bridge it was a short walk until they got outside. There was another small rumble and a stalactite hit the ground, causing a huge hole to appear in the ground.

The trio instantly became extremely worried but very slowly and cautiously made their way across the floor. Arguably Shiro had the worst time since he was a manticore, but that didn’t stop Keith from quickly looking over at Lance. He was very carefully taking steps while looking at the ground and up at the ceiling.

“Are you doing okay?” Asked Keith.

“Just fine.” Said Lance calmly. “You know, this is kind of what I expected when I came to hell. More trying not to die. Surprised it took this long…”

“Same.”

There was another rumble and a stalactite fell. It just missed Lance, but it opened up another hole in the ground. Lance yelped in shock as he lost his footing and fell. And fell. And fell. And fell. And fell.

“LANCE!!!”


	28. Legion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something is really, really off with Lance... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When Lance came to he was at the bottom of some kind of pit. He had hit his head pretty hard on the wall of the hole he fell into and knocked himself out. He quickly checked himself over to see if he was hurt, but he only seemed to have suffered a few cuts and bruises. He was going to chalk that one up to essentially being a god of some sort.

In the back of his mind he could still sense a panicked pull from somewhere far above him. He looked up at the hole he fell through and saw a small pinprick of light. He felt like the panicked feeling was coming from Keith, which was probably the case. He tried to concentrate and focus his mind as Krolia had taught him. He needed to let Keith know he was okay.

After a few minutes the panic faded away and it turned to worry. Lance didn’t really know how to reassure Keith that he was okay and was going to have a look for a way out. Shouldn't be too hard. He just had no idea where he was, what kind of demons he would face, and if it was the same Legion he saw at the meeting he was warned about staying away from… He was probably fucked.

“... Well this is fun.” He grumbled. He dusted himself off and decided to at least try and get his bearings. It was a lot warmer here than up there, so he was probably at least ground level. Maybe. He wasn’t sure.

He sighed and looked down at his ring and flicked it a few times. It had been a while since he used it and he really hoped that he could still use it well. He visualised a gun in his hand and it materialised. 

This gun was an object of power. It was similar to a magical artifact, but was given power through human emotions. Usually the result of someone who died close to the object or had a strong connection to it. It was kind of comforting having this gun. It didn’t run out of ammunition and could change into different types depending on what he needed. It did turn into an anti-tank rifle once.

He took a deep breath and slowly and started to sneak his way through the surprisingly warm and humid halls. He didn’t know why it was so humid, but he probably didn’t want to find out. He very carefully moved down the hallway as he tried to psych himself up so he didn’t freak out and just shoot the first thing he saw.

“Okay…” He muttered to himself. “Okay… This is just like Doom… Or like Asgard’s Wrath… Just like, with less things trying to straight up murder me or Imps… or a Mancubus… I will probably piss myself if I see a Mancubus...”

He saw some shadows starting to draw closer down the hall he was walking. Lance quickly hid in a crevice in the wall. He got a good look at the strange demons. Their bodies were made of a rough metal-like material and they all looked the same. Yeah, Lance recognised them from the meeting. They were the Legion. A hive mind. Demons he did not want to get caught by. If one spotted him they would all know he was there. 

When he felt he was safe he very quietly left his hiding spot and looked around. He really had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. It sucked. He really didn’t know what he was doing anymore.

He very carefully walked down the hall until he came to some kind of a hole in the wall. Lance ducked down and very carefully peaked out to see what was going on over the otherside. There were lots of these demons walking around. They were scraping at the walls and moving rocks. They were expanding the small cavern but he wasn’t sure.

To be honest Lance didn’t really care what they wanted to do. It didn’t really affect him at all. He just needed to get out. He suddenly felt rough hands grabbing him and pulling him to his feet. Lance yelped in shock and ended up staring into the lifeless face of one of the Legion.

Lance smiled nervously. “Um… Hi.”

“You.” Muttered one.

“From the meeting.” Said another.

Lance chuckled nervously. “Yeah… So you guys were at the meeting?”

“Yes.” They said. “We were.”

“You mean you guys specifically or is this some kind of hive mind thing?” Asked Lance. They didn’t answer him. They just started to drag him away somewhere. This was not going to end well.

They took him through several winding halls before coming to a large cavern. There were thousands of this Legion walking around. Most of them were going around moving rocks and debris. Though near the back of the cavern there was something else. It was a kind of beautiful and ornate looking fountain. Lance would have been impressed, if it wasn’t for the fact they were dragging him towards it. 

Lance quickly dug his heels into the ground and tried to pull away. “W-what are you doing?!”

Different members of the Legion started to whisper and talk quickly around him.

“You are Lance.”

“The Key.”

“You were at the meeting.”

“We are Legion. We are many.”

“You are powerful.”

“You will add to our power.”

“We are many and we are one.”

“Add to our power.”

“The Key.”

“We are Legion.”

“You will join us.”

“You are Legion.”

Lance gulped and quickly doubled his efforts to try and get free. Out of all the things that he thought could happen to him in hell, becoming part of a hive mind was not one of them. Also, they all really seemed to overestimate his abilities.

***

It took Shiro ten minutes to convince Keith not to dive head first down the hole Lance fell into but to instead find a safer way down. Keith initially hated that idea, but he did feel a small pang on something spike in the back of his mind that let him know that Lance was okay. It was a little comforting, but he still really wanted to get to Lance.

The two of them quickly exited the mountain and looked for another way in closer to the base of the mountain. The closer they got down to the base, he could just feel that Lance was closer. They eventually found a small cave and slipped inside. They only walked a few feet inside before they started to feel some humidity. Keith much prefered dry heat over humidity. Shiro felt the same way.

Keith frowned a little and looked over at Shiro. “So, you think the Blood wraith was telling the truth about the Legion moving in?”

Shiro shrugged. “Who knows? If they did it’s gonna be tough. If I could fly it could make things a little better, but who knows? We’re gonna have to hit hard and fast… You probably aren’t going to be able to eat them… They do have a pretty hard outer shell.”

“I’ll figure something out.” 

They heard a loud scream and Keith quickly bolted towards the sound. He came to a balcony that overlooked a large cavern. There were thousands of identical Legion standing around and watching a few pulling Lance towards a convergence fountain. He had only seen a few of these before in his life. 

The fountain was one of the ways many demons could procreate if they couldn’t physically do it themselves. They would take other demons and drown them in their fountains. They would then slowly transform over the course of the next few hours until they became a new member of their species. They were going to try and convert Lance.

“Shit.” Keith swung his legs over the side of the balcony and quickly looked around to see what the quickest and easiest way of grabbing Lance and getting out of there would be. It was pretty much impossible at this point. There was no way they were getting out of this unharmed.Keith gritted his teeth and launched himself as close to Lance as he could.

He ended up crashing into several of them, knocking them to the ground. It instantly caught the Legion’s attention and they started to swarm him. Their claws hardly had to brush up against him for it to slice through his flesh.

Keith yelled out in a mix of pain and frustration. He clawed back as best he could, and he was pretty sure he might have killed a few, but it was getting pretty overwhelmed. He heard a gunshot ring out. He managed to glance over to Lance and see that he managed to break free in the confusion and was fighting back. It made him grin. He liked it that Lance was able to fight back.

He managed to pull himself away from Legion and quickly made his way over to Lance. “You okay?”

“Yeah, you know. Just getting used to my new life of everything trying to fucking kill me.” Said Lance. “The usual. Where’s Shiro?”

Keith quickly looked up at the balcony and saw Shiro looking around as he raised his tail, barbs ready to fire. “Covering us I think? We really need to get the fuck out of here.”

“No arguments here.” Lance quickly raised his gun and shot a few more of the Legion.

“Right…” Keith quickly grabbed Lance and ran to the nearest wall. With one hand firmly wrapped around him, he started to climb up. It was going to be a bit of a struggle, what with him getting all cut up and his blood making it harder to grip the wall, but he could do it. 

When he was about halfway up the wall something flew through the air and stabbed the back of his hand. Keith swore loudly and glared at the goddamned hand of one of the Legion now sticking out of Keith’s hand. He looked over his shoulder and glared down at the Legion. They were quickly pulling apart their dead and throwing sharp body parts at him in an attempt to make him fall.

“Mother fuckers…” Growled Keith and he continued to climb.

“Are you okay?” Asked Lance.

“Fine… Just fine…” Growled Keith through gritted teeth. He felt a few more sharp things stabbing into his back as he climbed. Just another typical day in hell. Suddenly he felt something like a pin prick in his lower back, but then he felt nothing. Nothing at all below his hips. He lost his grip and he fell down hard. Lance bounced off him and hit the ground hard.

Keith tried to get up to get over to him, but he couldn’t feel his legs. He could, however, feel a sharp pain in his stomach. He reached down and felt something sharp poking out of himself just above his belly button. Those bastards threw something at him and now he was paralyized. He let out a frustrated cry as he tried to move. Movement meant life. Stopping meant death.

“Let me go!” Yelled Lance as the Legion grabbed him again and tried to drag him towards the fountain. They didn’t seem to care about Keith anymore since he couldn’t walk. They didn’t even seem to be too worried about Shiro shooting poisoned barbs at them either. Their skin was too thick to be penetrated effectively. 

Keith growled and continued to crawl towards Lance. He had to get to him. He had to get him out of that situation. He wasn’t going to let them hurt Lance any more than he already has been.

“I said… LET ME GO!!!” Screamed Lance. A soundwave shook the cavern and knocked several of the Legion over. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling too. The mood in the cavern instantly changed. All the heat in the room seemed to get sucked out. Lance was breathing heavily and he looked extremely pissed off.

The Legion stopped and actually backed away from him. They seemed to be frightened of him, and to be honest, Keith was too. He wasn’t really sure if Lance was pissed off or angry. He was just a mess of emotion. Most of those emotions were pissed off.

Lance walked towards Keith and tried to pull him to his feet. “Shiro! We’re leaving! Now!” The Manticore cautiously climbed down the balcony and went over to them. Lance did his best to throw Keith over Shiro’s back and climbed onto his back. “If you fucking follow us, I’ll kill you.”

With that Shiro quickly ran out of the mountain as fast as he could. After a few minutes of straight running, Shiro stopped and the two of them slipped off his back. Keith still couldn’t feel his legs. He felt Shiro press his paw on his back and ripped out the thing stuck in his back with ease. Keith yelped as his pain receptors kicked back in.

He was still hurt pretty badly, but he was okay. Kind of. Most of his cuts were superficial and not that deep anyway. Though he did kind of look like he washed himself in a pool of blood. He groaned and ran his fingers over his cuts.

“Are you okay?” Asked Shiro.

“Yeah, just another day in Hell.” Muttered Keith. “Nothing too crazy…”

Lance crouched next to Keith. He still had that weird energy around him that Keith didn’t really know what to make of it. The whites of Lance’s eyes had gone black again. It seemed to be some kind of weird god mode Lance would slip into. It seemed pretty dangerous, but for the moment Lance seemed to be in control.

“You’re hurt pretty badly.” Said Lance.

“Yeah. I know.” Said Keith. He looked up at Shiro. “Can you find something to help with this?” Shiro nodded and quickly went over to some rocks to try and find something to help. When he was gone he looked at Lance and couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Said Lance. “They didn’t really hurt me. Just manhandled me a lot… The remembered I am the Key from the meeting and kind of wanted me to join them. I have no idea what that would have done, but you know… I don’t think it would be wise to be part of a hive mind.”

“Yeah…” Keith picked some hair and dirt out of some of his cuts.

Lance put his hand on Keith’s leg. “You got the worst of it though. You’re really cut up. Is this really what hell is like for you?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty messed up here.”

“...” Lance held his arm out to him. “Go on.”

“Huh?”

Lance rolled his eyes and pressed his wrist to Keith’s lips. “Last time you ate me you regrew your legs and your arm. Think about what a little bit of my blood will do.”

“Well I guess, but…”

Lance pressed his wrist a little harder. “I’m not going to stop until you do. Am I going to have to order you?”

“...” Keith relented and lightly pressed his fangs into Lance’s hands and quickly lapped up the precious ruby droplets. It still tasted as clean and pure as the first time he had tasted Lance’s blood. He felt his muscles twitch and his skin tingling. Lance’s blood always did something magical to him.

“All better now?” Asked Lance. The black in his eyes was slowly fading out. The whites of his eyes looked kind of smoky now. Whatever was happening was fading away again. Did Lance even realize what was happening to him? Keith didn’t know.

“Yeah. Thanks… Sorry you got a bad impression of hell.”

“Pretty sure there is no such thing as a good impression of hell.”

“Fair enough… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Starting to get used to this…” Lance sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. This was a bad idea. I really thought talking to a blood wraith would help you with what you were going through.”

Keith shrugged. “It’s fine Lance… I’d much rather you focus on yourself. Like, I’m going through a bit of an identity crisis, but you obviously have bigger problems.”

“... Keith I-”

Shiro came back over and dropped a small clump of moss and a grub in front of Keith. “This was the best I could find. Should help with any internal damage you’re going through.”

“Thanks.” Keith quickly ate the grub and the moss clump. It tasted bitter, but it would help him heal. “Maybe we should get back to the house?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Said Shiro.

Keith climbed onto Shiro’s back and offered his hand Lance. Lance quickly took it and the group quickly headed back in the direction of the crack. As they moved Keith couldn’t help but glace behind them. The Legion weren’t known for just backing down like that. They were relentless. Did Lance really scare them that much?


	29. Slipping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone that's been quarantined or are doing it touch out there at the moment, stay safe, and stay strong. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After their little trip to hell Lance was pretty vocal about not going back in front of everyone. He wouldn’t talk about what happened to Pidge and Hunk, but the demons quickly filled them in that it was pretty bad. They could only really fill in on what they experienced, but not Lance. From the time he fell into that hole that Keith saw him getting dragged to the fountain was a complete mystery to them.

Lance just didn’t know what to do with himself now. He really didn’t want to go to hell again, but at the same time he had this weird urge to go back. It was like some weird adrenaline hit that he kind of wanted to experience again. This was how some addictions started.

This was how Lance found himself sitting inside his shed staring at the crack. He was just staring at it. He felt like it was mocking him in some way. Something as strong as Shiro could shoulder bash his way through it. Maybe he could do the same? But then again Keith couldn’t do it. 

He’d never know if he didn’t try. Lance was meant to be a god or something like that, right? Shouldn’t he be able to do this if he really wanted to? Just put his hand on the crack and push his way through?

Lance got up and put his hand on the rock, running his fingertips over the red cracks. The rock seemed to pulse in excitement, like it had a heart deep inside. The surface seemed to tense and relax under his touch too. Which was very unnerving to say the least. This rock seemed to be alive and receptive to him.

“... What do you want from me?” He muttered. The rock did nothing nor did it say anything useful to him. It was just a rock. Lance sighed a little and pushed away from the rock. It wanted nothing from him. It was just a doorway to Hell. What he wanted on the other side was trying to call him and draw him in.

Lance walked out of the shed, pressing his back against the door once it was closed and locked. His heart was racing in his chest and he was visibly shaking. He felt like he was doing something bad, or had done something bad. It didn’t make much sense. He felt sick.

A violent shudder ran down his spine as he felt someone watching him. Lance quickly looked to where he felt someone was watching him. A rock went flying and almost hit Curtis in the face. He managed to duck out of the way in time.

“Whoa! I know you guys don’t like me much but geez…”

Lance frowned a little. “Sorry, I… Things haven’t been going too well for me, but whatever. I’m never really well in the first place. Why are you here?”

Curtis sighed. “I ran into Marcello and-”

“Oh for the love of fuck!” Cried Lance. “That son of a bitch is always fucking everything up! He’s going around fucking with timelines and doing weird shit! He’s even my sleep paralysis demon too! I fucking hate him! I just want to scream!”

“... Rant over yet?”

“Yeah…” Lance sighed and put on a strained smile. “So what has he done now?”

“Stole some stuff from me and I want it back.”

“Sure. Come on in and look for it.” Said Lance. “If he stole it, it’s in the house.”

Curtis looked mildly concerned. “Um… So aren’t you mad at me?”

Lance was confused. “Huh? Why? I know you were just doing what you did for the sake of Adam. You were brought up to hate demons and Adam’s previous death was partially because of Shiro. Plus, I don’t feel threatened by you.”

“... Ouch. I almost feel hurt.”

Lance shrugged. “Don’t be. I think I hit my head really hard the other day and I think it just killed the part of me that believes that self preservation is a good thing.”

“Right… So Shiro and your other demon aren’t going to straight up murder me?”

Lance shook his head. “Shiro’s not going to hurt you. He knows how important you are to Adam and understands why you tried to kill him. He probably would have done the same thing in your situation.” He started to walk towards the door. “My boyfriend, Keith, might be a little less forgiving. He’s still pissed off at Adam for mentaly scarring Shiro for centuries. He’s also just easily pissed off.”

“Delightful…”

“Luckily for you he’s decided to go for a hunt, so he’s going to be out for a few hours.”

“A hunt?”

Lance nodded. “Yep. Noticed the murder rate has risen but the reports of sexual assault has gone down over the past few months? Well, Keith’s been out hunting the worst scum he can find and eating it. Who am I to deny my boyfriend the food that makes him happy?”

Curtis didn’t seem very happy about this. “Really? You’re just letting him eat people?”

“Sub humans.” Corrected Lance. “The people he goes after are the kind that force themselves onto other people. Mainly young women and children, but he’s more than happy to go after anyone else that makes his mouth water for whatever reason… Why? Afraid that the Iscariots are gonna be down a few members if Keith happens to run into them?”

Curtis rolled his eyes. “I honestly don’t care what happens to the Iscariots. I work with them out of necessity. Even if Keith is hunting the scum of the earth he is still killing people. They at least deserve a fair trial.”

“Does it look like I care?”

“Shouldn’t you care?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re human.”

That cut surprisingly deep. He used to be so repulsed and scared of Keith being able to rip apart a human body and almost eat all of it. However it became mundane and almost routine. He didn’t really care anymore who Keith killed and ate. He probably wouldn’t have even batted an eye if Keith told him he ate a child just for shit and giggles. 

“... Let’s just find what you’re after before Keith gets back.”

***

It was surprisingly easy for Keith to find food when Pidge introduced him to a thing called a sex offenders registry. Though for the life of him Keith still couldn’t read to save his life. He had to get Pidge to help him read it. She did warn him that some people on that list were on there for taking a piss in public and she’s just give him a general location in case it was just that. Sometimes Pidge heard rumours around campus when they went into classes and let Keith investigate in his own unique way.

Tonight was an investigation. Pidge had heard a rumour that a few girls might have been assaulted by some creep in a black van near the student gym. Which meant that Keith would have to disguise himself as female again. 

A feat he hated doing since it meant he had to redistribute his fat and organs around his body, along with breaking his bones, to appear like a woman. He wasn’t a full shapeshifter so he couldn’t change his sex organs, so he had to make do with what he had. Pidge had shown him some good videos on how to “tape everything down” so he could actually wear yoga pants in his human disguise.

As it turned out the rumour was true, and as Keith was walking around he got grabbed by some guy and yanked into a black van. Keith happily let them tie him up and think he was in control. Let him do the whole; “If you scream I’ll kill you.” threat too.

He only made his move when they moved to pull down his pants. Keith easily broke out of the stuipd zip ties and punched the guy in the face, knocking him out cold. After that, Keith went about his usual routine of tying up his food, undressing himself so he wouldn’t get blood on his clothes, shifted back to his usual male demon form, and waited for his food to wake up.

Was it sick that Keith liked watching the horror in their eyes when they realize they just fucked up? He was a demon after all. He was allowed to be a sadist once in a while. That glint in their eye and the heavy breathing through their nostrils when they saw him. A demon just grinning and looming over them with jagged teeth.

“Nothing personal.” Keith would usually say. “But just like you, a supposed man who can’t control your urges, I can’t control myself either. I’m hungry and you just practically threw yourself at me. I don’t care if you scream. I’m going to fucking kill you anyway.” 

After that he would always feast on their flesh. Some would last a few minutes before they either died of blood loss or shock. Keith didn’t really care which. He was just hungry and loved eating whatever sweet, lust laced flesh he could sink his teeth into. Humans rotten to the core, their sins fermenting away, eroding the last shreds of their humanity until there is nothing left but food for him to enjoy. If Lance allowed him, he would have eaten sinners every day.

When Keith had eaten most of the human inside the van he went about cleaning himself up and making himself look less like he’d just murdered a man. He didn’t bother trying to disguise himself as a woman again. Sure it meant the clothes he was wearing before were a little tighter and didn’t fit as well as they used to, but he didn’t mind.

Keith happily exited the van and stretched. He was full and felt sleepy. He’d head back home and have a quick nap in the nest. Then maybe he’d join everyone else for dinner. Even if he was just sitting around and drinking water while everyone else was eating he wanted to be with them. He liked the whole community feeling of eating together.

He started to walk back when he felt a slight chill run down his spine. Keith quickly turned just in time to catch the fist flying at his face. “... Hi James.”

“Keith.” The angel growled back. “You just killed someone else, didn’t you?”

“I’m a Sin-Eater. What did you expect?” He pushed James away from him and glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I have things to do. I can’t help it if I happened to pass by your filth.”

“Pretty sure the filth you’re referring to is starting to drip out of that van.”

“Don’t be a smart ass.” Muttered James. “Humans are awful, but demons are abominations. Especially you.”

“Why? Because you can see what you could have been?” Asked Keith. “Look, I know you hate demons and have a huge bone to pick with me at the moment, but cut me some slack. I need to get home.”

“Yeah, to that fake god.”

“There’s nothing fake about Lance.” Growled Keith. If James wanted to insult him, fine. But if they dared insult Lance there was going to be hell to pay. “So what now? You going to try and kill me? Are we going to have a fight now?”

“Too open.” Said James. “I also have things to do. I just wanted to let you know we are around. Don’t get comfortable attacking humans.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

James glared at him and quickly left the area. Keith rolled his eyes and did the same. He didn’t know how long it would take until someone came across the remains in the van, but Keith knew better than to stick around. As he walked back home he did wonder what on earth James was doing here in the first place, but in the end, what did he care? As long as the angel wasn’t trying to hurt him or his pack he didn’t give a damn.

***

Adam was doing a bit of grocery shopping for the evening at the convenience store. Things between him and Curtis had been rocky lately. They still talked, but they didn’t really talk. They had the kind of conversations a long time customer might have with a cashier. Nothing deep or meaningful anymore.

It was disheartening to say the least. It was like they were finally drifting apart and Adam didn’t like it.They had been through so much together and he had so much respect for the man. This man was willing to let Adam completely forget his life as an Iscariot and live as a normal human for crying out loud. He wanted to try and slowly repair what they had. 

Naturally it wasn’t going to be easy. Curtis still seemed a little unsure of Shiro, and Shiro didn’t seem too happy about being in the same room as Curtis. Attempted murder tended to do that. He really wished that the two of them would get along. Maybe somewhere in the future they could do that, but not now. Like everything, the wounds were too fresh.

Adam picked up one of the microwave dinners in the freezer section and frowned at it. Why did most microwave dinners look like vomit in a container? It was disgusting. If he had the time he would cook, but nope. He was still working as a professor so he had very little time to do anything.

Apart from mending his relationship with Curtis he needed to try and get Keith on his side. The angry little Sin-Eater wasn’t going to be very easy to win over. He was extremely angry about how his death had affected Shiro. Adam couldn’t blame him. He probably would have been angry too if he was in Keith’s position. Keith was fiercely loyal to Shiro as most demons in familial packs were.

He considered maybe bribing Keith with meat, but no. Lance was rich and could probably get Keith the finest meats in the world. It meant that Adam was in no way going to win Keith’s trust through his stomach. Which was annoying because he had no idea what a Sin-Eater wanted besides food… But to be fair most demons just wanted to eat fresh meat.

Adam sighed heavily and put a few of the more edible looking microwave dinners into his basket and looked around to see what else he should get. Maybe some juice or ice cream? Today felt kind of like an ice cream weather.

When he closed the door to the freezer he happened to see someone unsettlingly familiar looking at the drinks fridge. James Griffin. An angel that works with the Iscariots. He was kind of a moody hot head, but he was good at what he did. He was a power after all. 

This was okay. Adam just had to take a deep breath and ignore him. He hadn’t met James in this life and so he had no reason to talk to him, No reason to even acknowledge him. Though he did have to question if him being in here was just a coincidence or not. Adam felt like he might be watching him. Maybe checking up on him to make sure that he hadn’t remembered his past lives yet?

Adam had a feeling that whoever was leading the Iscariots at the moment was probably annoyed that Curtis was working for them but he wasn’t. Granted he could see why they wanted him back. He was very good at what he did.

Adam took a deep breath to calm himself and quickly went to buy his groceries. He just had to ignore Jamed and keep walking. Simple. When he walked to the cash register he happened to catch the angel’s eye for a split second, but it was only for a second. He bought his items and quickly left the convenience store and headed back home.

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he headed to his apartment. Which was unsettling. He sometimes felt that feeling when Shiro was walking up behind him in a crowd. Thought it was more his own instinct and training when it came to protecting himself against demons. This was completely different.

He glanced at a shop window and saw James following him with a bottle of water in hand. Perfect, the Iscariots were stalking him now. This was not going to end well. Adam would just ignore him.

“Professor!” Called James.

Adam sighed. So James was going to actively engage with him? Fine. He could pretend he was a student of his. He put on his best teacher smile and looked over at him. “Are you talking to me?”

“Professor Wright?”

“That’s me, and you are?”

The angel looked at him for a moment before he smirked. “I know you know who I am. I can see the recognition in your eyes. You know who I am. Don’t lie to me.”

“... What do you want Griffin?” Spat Adam.

“How long have you remembered?” Asked James curiously. “A few days? Months? Years?”

“I have no reason to tell you anything.” Muttered Adam. “What do you want? I have frozen food to put in a freezer.”

“You haven’t come back to the Iscariots yet.” Said James. “You need to come back as soon as possible. If you don’t they will come for you. You know what happens to the Iscariots that try to leave just because they don’t feel like being a part of this anymore… It doesn’t end well.”

“I know.” Muttered Adam. Those that tried to leave before were taken back to their headquarters for punishment. Adam was never interested in what that entailed, but if he was honest, it couldn’t have been much worse than the death he experienced last time.

“So you’re going to come to the closest place first thing tomorrow?” Asked James.

Adam rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter now does it? You’re going to tell whoever is running the show that I’m back.”

“I kind of have a duty to do so, and so do you.” Reminded James. “This was what you chose. You can’t take it back.”

“Whatever… I need to get home James.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“...” Adam quickly walked away from James and headed to his apartment. He knew what was going to happen tomorrow if he didn’t go back to them. He quickly put the food away and started to pack an overnight bag. If they had followed him they would know how he would sometimes take one of these bags with him when he met up with Shiro.

He nervously bit his bottom lip at the thought. Adam had to go into hiding. He needed to. If he didn’t he was going to lose his mind. Along with possibly a few more body parts. He took his phone out and quickly called Shiro.

_“Hey Adam. How are you?”_

“I’m okay…” Said Adam quickly. “But not really. Okay, look, I’m not going to sugar coat this, the Istariots know I have my memories back and they aren’t going to take no for an answer… I know Keith doesn’t like me much and this is a big ask, but I need a place to hide. Can I-?”

 _“Of course you can stay with me.”_ Said Shiro quickly. _“Lance will be fine with it. Do you need me to come over?”_

“No, I’m going to call an uber.” Said Adam as he quickly went over his stuff. He didn’t have many clothes he could fit in his bag and he needed his laptop to work at the very least. “I’ll be there as soon as possible. When I get close I’ll call you again and let you know I’m coming.”

_“Okay… What about Curtis?”_

“... I’ll contact him once I’m at your place.” Said Adam calmly. “The less he knows that I am moving the better. If he knows before I get there he can try and stop me. I trust Curtis, but I know he still has reservations about you and I being together… If he feels that this is going to hurt me he will try and stop me. I can’t risk it.”

_“Okay… I’ll be waiting at the gates for you. I won’t let them hurt you.”_

“I know you won’t. Thank you Shiro… I love you.”

_“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”_

“See you soon.” Adam quickly hung up and went about calling an uber and making sure that he had everything. Things were going to be okay. He was going to be with Shiro and he’d be safe. He hoped he would be safe.


	30. New roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more I write this the more I kind of feel like Lance and Keith kind of have some kind of emotionally toxic relationship... Let me know what you think, but I'm not trying to make it a toxic relationship or anything. It's gonna turn out alright in the end. I just feel like it's all spiraling at the moment. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

It didn’t take long for Lance to figure out Adam was in the house. He had just walked into the kitchen after he decided Curtis could just go ahead and find what he was looking for by himself, and Adam was trying to teach Shiro how to use a jug to boil water. It was kind of awkward. However they all managed to sit down and Adam explained what happened. 

Lance listened intensively and nodded along. “So… The Iscariots are probably going to bring you back and hurt you for not coming back right away?”

“Pretty much.”

“Stay as long as you need. I don’t care.” Said Lance. “If you need anything just ask, and let Hunk know you’re staying here indefinitely. He’ll be more than happy to cook for you.”

“Wait, really? You’re fine with this?” Asked Adam. He seemed a little worried.

Lance shrugged. “I honestly don’t mind. You two are in love and you need a place to lay low. If the Iscariots try to come here and take you I am pretty sure they can’t do that… I’ll let Keith know that you’re staying here. He’s going to be a little iffy about you being here.”

The two just nodded along, but seemed very surprised he was agreeing to this new living arrangement. Lance didn’t see why. He was happy with them living together if they wanted to. He’d just have to relay the basic house rules once he had settled in.

“Oh, by the way Curtis is here somewhere.” Said Lance. “A young Marcello’s been jumping around the timeline doing who knows what and took something from him. Don’t know what it is but he’s looking for it.”

“Oh…” Adam didn’t look too happy. “I see… I should probably try and not see him anymore… At least for the moment… He probably won’t be too happy about this.”

“Probably.” Lance sighed a little and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, I’d suggest you two go to Shiro’s room until he leaves. I’m sorry about what’s happened to you.”

Shiro smiled a little and started to move Adam towards the stairs. “Yeah. We probably should.”

Lance waved to them and let them go. He needed to figure out how to let Keith know this was going on. He didn’t want any more stress to happen in the house. He just wanted things to run smoothly for once and without added drama. Though he doubted that would happen. 

***

Adam and Shiro made it up to the second floor before they ran into Curtis. There was obvious tension between Adam and Curtis. Shiro wasn’t really sure what to do and kind of just nervously extended and retracted his claws into the carpet.

“Hey Curtis.” Said Adam. “So um, Lance said you were here looking for something.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t find it. Either it’s not here or Marcello hid it really well.” Said Curtis. “So… Are you staying here tonight?”

Adam shrugged. “I um… I can’t. James found me and could tell I have my memories back. He wants me to join the Iscariots again.”

Curtis seemed shocked. “Seriously? He just showed up like that and confronted you?” He frowned a little and started thinking. “I see… Look, if that is the case expect someone from the Iscariot’s to come here and ask for Lance’s help to find you. That is if they don’t think he’s harboring you here already.”

“I know…” Muttered Adam. “I… I don’t know what to do. Will they do something to you? Like you have remembered so much longer than I have and I… They might think you’ve been keeping my memory a secret from them. I just… I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Curtis smiled a little at him and shrugged. “It’s fine. No matter what they do to me they aren’t going to do anything I haven’t suffered through before. You do what you have to do… Maybe one day you can finally be free.”

“One day… Sorry, I kind of stuck you with this month’s rent.”

Hearing that made Curtis laugh. He hugged Adam tightly and smiled at him. “It’s fine. I can cover it. You just stay safe. Okay?”

“Thank you Curtis, I really appreciate it.” Said Adam. He hugged Curtis back. “I’m sorry that everything has turned out the way it has. I never-”

“It’s fine. You deserve to live the life you want.”

“And so do you… Don’t you forget that. Okay?”

Curtis smiled at him. “I won’t. Well, I’d better be heading back home. If you’ve left anything there that you need just shoot me a message and I’ll bring it over for you. Okay?”

“Thank you.”

Curtis’s gaze lingered on Adam for just that little bit longer than it probably should have before he looked over at Shiro. He nodded slightly at him. “You still treating him right?”

“Of course. Adam means the world to me.”

Curtis nodded and headed out of the house. Once he was gone the two of them continued to walk to Shiro’s room. When they got there Shiro walked into the nest and started to shift things around to make it more comfortable for the two of them. He looked over at Adam who had sat down near a far wall as he went through his bag.

After a few minutes Shiro cleared his throat. “So um… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine… Just a little worried for Curtis. The Iscariots demand loyalty.” Said Adam calmly. “Curtis is already on the fringe of the group so I just… I have no idea how this will work out. I just want him to be safe.”

“I know…” Shiro walked over to him and lightly nuzzled him. “I’m sorry things are like this. They will all work out. I swear. I’ll keep you safe and if I have to I’ll keep Curtis safe too.”

Adam seemed confused. “Really? You’ll do that?”

“Of course. Curtis is your friend. He’s the person you’ve known for all your lives. There’s no way I would let someone you care about so deeply get hurt if I can help it.” It was true too. Shiro loved Adam so much. He knew that Curtis wasn’t a bad person. He was just a man that wanted what was best for his friend and one time lover. Shiro gently nuzzled him some more. “Come to the nest?”

Adam sighed a little and kicked off his shoes. He followed Shiro to his nest and seemed surprised by how soft it was. “Oh! This is nice.”

Shiro made a pleased sound and happily curled around Adam. He wanted Adam to feel safe and secure with him. He would protect Adam. He would protect Adam with his life.

***

As Lance expected, Keith was not happy about Adam now living with them. Lance had explained to him how and why Adam was going to live with them, but that didn’t seem to make him any happier. When Lance told him that the house was so big they probably wouldn’t even run into each other, it just annoyed him.

Keith ended up sulking for about a week and stayed in their room. Lance knew that Keith didn’t like Adam because of what happened with Shiro, but damn it had been a few hundred years. He was really holding a grudge.

Lance sighed heavily as he ate his ridiculously large bowl of instant noodles. Pidge almost seemed jealous of his noodles. “You know,” she said. “You should do a noodle mukbang. You’re cute. Bet you could get so many views whining about your boyfriend as you eat your feelings.”

He chose to ignore her comment in favour of eating more noodles. “I just don’t get it, you know? I just… You guys are okay with Adam being here, right?” Pidge and Hunk kind of just shrugged and let themselves get ranted to. “What Adam did was centuries ago and he didn’t even mean to do it. He got murdered. It wasn’t like he wanted everyone to know he was a witch. Wish he could just understand that.”

Hunk shrugged. “Sorry buddy. Keith really knows how to hold a grudge. He’s like eighteen or nineteen in demon years, right? That sounds about right, right?”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Yep. Lots of teenagers are terribly vindictive assholes. Also, Keith is a demon. He’s probably just naturally an asshole.

“He does exhibit some dickish behaviour…” Said Hunk.

Lance glared at his bowl of noodles and noisily shoveled a few forkfuls into his food hole. “Dumb behavious. Stupid. Stubborn asshole.”

“And you’re still gonna suck his dick.” Said Pidge. Hunk glared at her and rolled his eyes.

Lance pointed and pointed his fork at her. “First of all, have you seen his dick when he’s fully erect and ready to go? First time I saw it I thought I had made a huge mistake and was going to die. Secondly, my jaw would dislocate before I even got a third of the way down that monster.”

Both Hunk and Pidge were cringing when he said that. “How is your ass not completely torn to fucking shreads?” Asked Pidge. “Or like, how is your lower intestine not getting pulled out of your ass?”

Lance shrugged. “Magic? I might actually be dead if there wasn’t some kind of magic involved.”

There was a knock at the door which meant Lance had to reluctantly leave his noodles to answer it. He opened the door and was face to face with a tall man. He looked might pissed off and Lance just really hoped he had a really bad resting bitch face. Standing just a little behind him he saw the familiar face of James and Ryan. This could not end well.

“Um, hi? Can I help you?” He asked.

“You’re Lance McClain, right?” Asked the angry looking man.

“Yep. That’s me.” Said Lance. “Who are you.”

“I’m Iverson. I’m the leader of the Iscariots. Can we come in?”

***

Keith knew he was being childish. Lance was right, but he still held a grudge against Adam. He was an asshole. That’s still what he thought… Though Keith had to admit he was getting tired of sulking in the bedroom all day and night. He decided to just go down to the kitchen and at least grab some meat from the fridge.

He decided to just crawl along the walls and make his way to the kitchen as undetected as possible. When he passed the doorway leading into the kitchen he heard some unfamiliar voice and had a quick look inside.

Much to his disgust, James was there along with some Ryan and another man from the Iscariots. He was probably someone higher up the Iscariot food chain since he was the one talking to Lance. Lance didn’t seem to care, as evidenced by the fact he was eating a large bowl of noodles in probably the most annoying way possible. Lots of slurping. It was petty, but it made him smirk. He liked it when Lance was like that.

Lance slurped up another mouthful and reached for some water. “So... Let me get this straight; you want my help to find an Iscariot?” He asked. “And you want me to tell you if he came here seeking help in running away?”

“Yes.” Said the man, clearly annoyed by Lance’s attitude.

Lance just shrugged. “Okay, so what’s in it for me? The warm and fuzzy feeling for helping you? Nah. I don’t think so. I’ll pass. You three may leave now. Goodbye.”

“I don’t think you understand the situation here.” Said Ryan. “Adam swore an oath and he has to abide by it.”

Lance yawned. “Okay, look. I’m going to be real with you three. I honestly don’t care. You cause? Don’t care. Your oath? Don’t care. All this other weird outdated stuff you think is important I just don’t care. You can whine and scream about anything and everything you want but I don’t care in the slightest anymore. So thank you, but get the fuck out of my house.”

The angry looking man slammed his hand down on the table. “McClain! You’re messing with things you don’t understand. I don’t care if you’re some kind of new god or whatever the fuck has been reportaed back to me. You can’t go against the old gods.”

“Says who? The old gods?” Asked Lance. He gestured to the door. “The door is over there. Get out. Come back if you need something really important or if you just want to sit around and drink or whatever. But don’t you ever fucking come into my house and threaten me, Iverson!” He slammed his own hands down on the table, causing everything in the room to shake. Keith couldn’t help but notice the grey coming over the whites of Lance’s eyes. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

This seemed to rile James up a little and he looked like he was going to say something, but Keith decided to quickly interviene. He jumped down, making a noise loud enough for the trio to look at him.

Keith hoped he looked menacing when he bared his teeth at them. “He said, get out. Get out now.” James glared at him and looked like he was going to punch Keith right in the face. However Ryan quickly spoke up before any action was taken. 

“That’s fine. We’re all civilized here.” He said. “Hope you all have a pleasant evening. We’ll be going now.” Ryan very skillfully managed to get the others out of the house. “Hopefully we’ll see things under better circumstances. Bye.”

When they were gone Keith made his way over to Lance. He looked upset and was poking around his bowl of weird looking human food. Looked like tapeworms to him, but Lance seemed to like it. Well, not now, but usually.

Keith sat on the table next to him and tilted his head slightly. Something was very off about Lance Lately. More so than usual. “Do you want to talk?” He asked.

Lance shrugged and poked at his food some more. “I don’t know man, I just… You’re probably going to think it’s weird…”

“I’m a demon. Weird is kind of my thing.”

That got Lance to smile a little. “Okay, well I just don’t feel like myself anymore… I don’t know if this is a PTSD thing or if I’m starting to dissociate or something but it… It’s weird. When I was talking everything just… It didn’t really feel like I was talking… I need to talk to Slav about this. I feel like I’m starting to lose my mind… Next thing you know my sleep paralysis demon is going to start walking around the house and scaring everyone…”

“That thing is still bothering you?” Asked Keith. “That sucks… Is there anything I can do?”

Lance sighed and slumped over the table, resting his head on Keith’s lap. “Just… Stay by me. Please. When you’re there holding me at night it doesn’t seem to try and hurt me as much…”

“Is it scratching you?” Asked Keith as he ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. The usually soft and fluffy hair was kind of greasy. It felt strange to him since Lance was usually so well put together. “What is it doing to you?”

Lance hummed a little and closed his eyes. “Just saying really horrible stuff to me and acting like he’s going to touch me.”

“What does it say?”

“... It’s telling me to give it back.”

“Give what back?”

“... My body.” Said Lance quietly. “My sleep paralysis demon looks like what I think Marcello would look like if he was one of those weird skinny freaks in the astral plane.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Keith didn’t really know what to do. If he could he would kill that sleep paralysis demon to make Lance feel better. He just wanted Lance to smile and laugh again like he used to. The way Lance was now was kind of depressing.

Pidge poked her head into the room. “Yo… are the Iscariots gone yet?”

Lance nodded as he sat up. “Yeah, they are gone. Shouldn’t be back for a while.”

She walked back into the room followed by Hunk. “Are you sure they are gone?” Asked Hunk. “Those guys don’t seem very friendly… They wanted Adam, right?”

“Yep.” Muttered Lance. “But it’s whatever. As long as Adam lives here I’ll do what I can to protect him. The same as I would for any of you. They can’t just come in here and demand I hand someone over like that and I-” He ate some more noodles and frowned. “Hunk?”

“Yeah?”

“My noodles are cold…”

“I’ll heat those up for you.” He quickly took the bowl from Lance and went to heat it back up in the kitchen while Lance went back to using Keith’s lap as a pillow. Keith didn’t mind. He’d try and be better for Lance. He needed all the support he could give him.


	31. Copper wire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken a while to update this story. I wanted to finish off one of my other ones and things were ramping up in another (also started another one because I have no control Aaaaaa!!!)! Anyway, Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

It had been a few weeks since the Iscariots last visited. Adam was pretty worried that they would come back and find him, or maybe stake out the collage in hopes of catching him. Adam didn’t like it, but he decided to resign, citing sudden and unexpected medical issues. He felt like shit doing it, he quite enjoyed his job, but staying alive was probably more important at the moment.

So with nothing to do, Adam decided to keep himself busy by doing house work. It was mostly cleaning Shiro’s hair from every surface possible, that manticore could shed like no bodie’s business. When he wasn’t cleaning he was reading in the library or trying to get the younger people in the house to be a little more clean. Especially Pidge. They were a tornado of chaos. 

He’d somehow managed to avoid Keith for most of the time, only seeing the demon a few times before they quickly left or just glared at him and ran away. It was kind of annoying, but it wasn’t like Adam could make him talk to him if he wanted to. Shiro had encouraged him to try, but he couldn’t really catch him.

So Adam just gave up for the moment and went back to being the unofficial adult of the house. It was boring. Very boring. He needed something to stimulate his mind somehow. He started opening doors to try and find any room with any kind of magical artifact that he could mess with or study.

Eventually he happened to stumble into Lance’s bedroom. He would have just quickly closed it and left if it wasn’t for the fact that Lance was half hanging over the side of the nest with his fingers dangling towards the floor.

“... Are you okay?” He asked.

Lance shrugged. “I’m depressed and stuff… If you have PTSD you can get depression, right?”

“I’d assume so?”

Lance huffed a little and wiggled his fingers a little. “So… You know lots of stuff about gods and stuff? Do gods like, have limits and stuff on what they can do?”

“Well it depends on the kind of god.” Said Adam. “Like, you wouldn’t expect a sea god to know anything about land creatures.”

“... Fair point. What kind of god am I?”

“It depends.” Said Adam. He walked into the room and sat down on the chair at the vanity. “Gods can be manifestations of emotions or ideas. They can also be used to explain natural phenomena or when people need protection… Considering you absorbed the power of a god that can open and close doors, I guess you could be considered the god of doors?”

Lance looked over at Adam, raising an eyebrow. “The god of doors? Really?”

Adam shrugged. “Nothing is closed to you so why not? But since you aren’t really a god but have god like powers you should be a little careful. You could end up doing something really strange.”

“Like what?”

“Summon your own minions? Create life? Bring your imagination to life?” Suggested Adam. “In the early stages of becoming a god you can literally be anything.”

“... Yay.”

“... Have you talked to Keith about this? It could be a little troublesome if you become some kind of elemental or a god made from emotion, your body could change so you um… Let’s just say you’ll be completely genderless…”

“... Fun. I’m gonna lose my dick.”

“It’s a possibility.” Reminded Adam. “But have you talked to Keith about this? This is a pretty huge deal.”

Lance shrugged. “Keith has his own shit to deal with and he already knows I’m dealing with a lot and it’s stressing him out. I don’t want to add to it…”

Adam was kind of annoyed by this, but he could deal with this. He could. Really. Maybe. “Lance, you love Keith, right? You want what’s best for him? He’s a demon. He might be as thick as two bricks when it comes to very complicated thoughts and feelings, but he can tell when something isn’t right with you. Demons are fiercely loyal of their mates and do everything they can to make them feel better… If you’re not talking to Keith about your problems and they are big enough for him to start worrying you, you really should talk to him.”

“I don’t want him to feel like shit.”

“He’ll feel like shit if you don’t talk to him.” Said Adam sternly. “Look, he’ll feel like shit if you tell him but at least he will know what the problem is and have a better idea about how he can try and fix it. I heard about the snack cake incident.”

“We dropped off so many boxes to food banks that they told us to fuck off!” Whined Lance. “And we still have too many!”

“You still have a whole cupboard filled with them.”

“I know… Keith’s trying to make me fat...”

Adam shrugged. “Well some demons do feed their mates more because fat reserves help a lot when trying to conceive a child…”

“... Nope! Not happening!” Said Lance quickly. “Don’t give a damn about bullshit magic stuff. If he somehow manages to magic knock me up I’mma yeettus the fetus! I’m not ready for this! Males were not made to have babies! My hips will crack and I’ll die!”

“Well your pelvis might not crack.” Said Adam. “They could be the kind of demon baby that rips itself out of the mother’s womb.”

Lance looks like he was going to be sick. “I’m gonna die… I am literally going to die…”

“I’m just messing with you.” Said Adam calmly. “Most demons need a womb for a baby to grow, so you’d need to drink a potion and or cast a spell to have a womb in the first place to even consider it.”

That didn’t seem to make Lance feel any better. “My life is fucked up enough as it is. I don’t need to worry about Keith sticking his dick in me and knocking me up! I don’t need to bring some innocent kid into this!” He flopped back into the nest and sighed dramatically.

Adam just shook his head and waited for Lance to calm down. Everything was just so much for the poor man. When Adam had talked to Shiro about Lance, he learned that the poor man had hardly been a warlock for a year and now he was pretty much a god. It was upsetting for someone so you and with no experience at all.

“Being involved in magic can be pretty tricky.” He said calmly. “But if you make the effort then you two can have something special… I never thought I would have a love like I do with Shiro, but here I am. We talk about everything.”

“Even how you remember how you died?” Asked Lance.

“Well I… How did you know I remembered how I died?”

Lance froze for a moment. “I… I don’t know… Shit. What the hell am I doing now?”

Adam sighed heavily. “Okay, so that weird thing aside… I share the important things with Shiro. You being distressed is an important thing you need to share with Keith.”

“... I don’t know…”

“Just do it. Don’t make me force you two together.” Warned Adam. 

Lance pouted at him. “I’m a god thing. I can smite you.”

“Do it. Coward.”

He sighed and sat up. “Okay. Fine… Well since we are talking about feelings, what about you? How are you? You okay living here?”

Adam shrugged. “Don’t really have anything to do. So a little boring, but whatever.”

“Yeah… So um, what stuff do you like doing?”

“Reading is fine, but the library is whatever… I don’t know. I miss my own studies. I was on the edge or making a healing potion that would make it easier to regrow limbs after a fight.”

“So you want a laboratory or something? Some kind of wizard-like potions room?”

Adam shrugged. “I guess?”

Lance nodded and waved over to the door. “There you go. Have fun.”

Adam raised an eyebrow in mild confusion, but went and opened the door anyway. Much to his surprise it really did open up to a large scale potions room instead of the hallway. Adam had questioned how Lance was just able to open doors and get from one end of the house to the other, but just shook his head and chalked it up to Lance just doing some magic.

“You know, you really are the god of doors.”

“Apparently.”

Adam smiled a little and walked into the room. He closed the door and opened it again to see that he was in a little hallway on the second floor. Adam shrugged and started to look around the room. Lots of ingredients in bottles and jars in cupboards while others were hanging from the ceiling. There was a desk stacked with dusty books and inkwells. Finally he could do something other than cleaning… But first, he really needed to clean this room. It was way too dusty.

***

Lance sighed again as he drummed his fingers on his chest. Talking. He needed to talk to Keith. Everyone was saying that, but Lance didn’t know what he needed to talk about. Keith didn’t need to know how he was feeling. Lance didn’t even know how he was feeling. It was just his own emotions he was trying to deal with. Keith didn’t need to worry about him. But he really needed to talk to him.

With a heavy sigh, Lance decided to just find Keith and talk to him. Didn’t have to be all emotional straight away. They could ease into it. He opened the door to the bathroom and ended up at the stairs to the attic.

He slowly walked up the steps and very carefully peeked around the corner to see if he could spot Keith. He did, and what he saw really surprised him. Keith was sitting in front of a mirror, naked, in his full demon form. He was meticulously wrapping small pieces of copper wire around his horns. He looked like he had strung some beads or cheap pieces of shiny plastic onto them. 

After a while Keith stood up and draped some red silk over his shoulders and kind of just posed. He looked at himself and tilted his head every once in a while. He let out an annoyed huff, took off the silk, and went back to wrapping wire around his horns.

Lance walked over to him and cleared his throat. Keith jumped a little and looked over at Lance in shock. “Oh! Hi Lance.” He looked down at the copper wire and shiny things on the ground in front of him and he scrambled to hide them away. Then he started pulling off the stuff on his horns. “I um, I didn’t hear you come up…”

“You don’t need to put that stuff away.” Said Lance. He walked over him and crouched down. “What are you doing?”

“... I don’t know.” Muttered Keith. “I guess I just wanted to try something different? I don’t know… It’s kind of fun wrapping wire around my horns… They look nice… Right?”

Lance smiled a little and picked up some copper wire. “Yeah. It does… Did you take this from Pidge?”

“They gave it to me.” Corrected Keith. “So I… I just wanted to have a go at doing this stuff… It looks bad doesn’t it?”

“No you look fine.” Reassured Lance. “If you wanna have fun and decorate your horns I’m not going to stop you… If you like I can help you?”

“... Really?”

Lance grinned. “Yeah. I like doing these kinds of things. My niece and nephew love to do little crafts and stuff. I’d love to help you.”

“... Okay.” Keith reluctantly showed Lance what he was using. As it turned out Keith had found some rhinestones. “Just um… Grab some wire and wrap it around my horns.”

“You got it boss.” Lance was more than happy to help him. This was a nice little bonding thing they could do together. “So, you know we have mirrors in other rooms. Why come up here?”

Keith shrugged. “I wanted a bit of privacy… And I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to take this with me…” He gestured to the red silk.

Lance picked up the silk and wrapped it around Keith’s shoulders. “It’s yours. Red looks good on you.”

The demon blushed a little and started to pick at the rhinestones. He started to pick out the red ones until he had a small pile of them. When he was done he started to thread them through the wire and looped them around his horns.

“You look really nice Keith.”

The demon smiles at him. “Thanks… You know, it’s kind of hard to look nice when you’re a demon.”

“Well you make it look easy.” Lance kissed his cheek. “... You know, you’re the kind of guy that seems to be more practical over decorative. Not that I’m complaining, but I didn’t think sin-eaters cared too much about how they look.”

“... Humans care.”

“Keith…”

“And angels are vein little shits that like to look good.” Muttered Keith. “I just… I guess I want to see if I look good? Like, I never cared about my looks but I just… I have no idea… I don’t know if I’m trying to find who I am and I just… I don’t even know… It looks stupid, doesn’t it?”

“What? No. Keith, if you want to try makeup and jewelry and fancy fabrics to connect with your angel side then go ahead… I’m just sorry I couldn’t really find anything about blood wraiths…” 

“That’s fine.” Said Keith. “I didn’t expect to really find out anything. It’s okay.” He kissed Lance’s cheek. “I’m glad you took some time to help me. You didn’t have to with all the stuff you’re going through.”

“Just because I’m going through shit doesn’t mean I can’t help you…” Lance gently squeezed Keith’s hand, and smiled when his boyfriend squeezed back. “I love you. I’m sorry I’ve been weird. I just don’t know how to handle this.”

“It’s okay.” Said Keith. “I know what you’re going through is really tough. I’m trying to understand what you’re going through.”

“You’re doing a fine job… I’m the one doing a shitty job communicating.” Admitted Lance. “Everything is just so overwhelming sometimes, you know?”

Keith nodded a little and kissed Lance. “Things have been pretty heavy for us lately huh?”

“Yeah… You look really pretty… Can I make you look nice? Like, doing your hair, and some make up, and some fancy jewelry for your horns… Oh! I can get you some really pretty red silk clothes too. Sexy, yet tasteful. Would you like that?”

Keith shrugged. “Maybe… Do you think I would look good?”

“Well I think you look amazing now so with any improvement I’ll just have to hide you away to stop everyone else from trying to get to you.” He said in what he assumed was a joking manner.

Keith had a thoughtful look on his face. “... Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t mind you doing that.” Said Keith quietly. It sounded like he was a little embarrassed. “I wouldn’t mind you keeping me like that…”

“... Is this a demon thing?” Asked Lance. “Wanting to be hidden away by their lovers?”

Keith shrugged. “Some do. It’s mostly demons that can get knocked up. Something about wanting to make sure if you have a safe nest for kits… I just like the idea of someone wanting me enough to keep me like that…”

“Keith…”

“But I don’t want you to actually do that,” Said Keith quickly. “Like, I would literally fight you if you tried to keep me in the nest all the time.”

That made Lance laugh. He grinned and ruffled Keith’s face. “I wouldn’t dream of it. You’re too beautiful to contain to our nest.” They both had a little laugh at that and Lance went about putting more things in Keith’s horns. This was nice. Just being around Keith and talking to him normally was good. It made him feel more at peace and he felt that Keith felt the same too. Plus now he had to figure out what kind of cute red silk stuff he could dress Keith up in.


	32. Pretty in Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are kind of looking up for our two dumbasses, however some things are... well... They are dumbasses. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

It took a few days, but eventually Lance got a box of clothes delivered. They were all for Keith of course. The night after he had found Keith dressed up in the attic Lance had gone on a small shopping spree and bought a lot of nice clothes for Keith. Some he could wear around the house and some things that were for his eyes only. He didn’t know if Keith would actually wear them or not, but he wanted to give the demon a chance if he wanted to.

So there the two of them were sitting in their nest while Lance was showing everything off to Keith. Things had been going well until Lance showed Keith an oversized fluffy red sweater. Keith put it on and refused to take it off.

“Come on Keith.” Whined Lance. “I got other things to show you!”

“Nope. This is warm.” Said Keith. “It’s warm and I like it.”

“But I got you other things too!”

“Eh, fine…” 

Lance happily showed Keith several other things, mostly comfy clothes and a few cute dresses. Lance quickly explained that away as the dresses were cute, but Keith could use them for hunting. Keith agreed to that. Then after the more innocent things, Lance started to get into the more suggestive clothing.

He couldn’t help but blush when Keith raised an eyebrow at the red and black corset. “You don’t have to wear it.” Said Lance quickly. “You just said some stuff the other day and I thought you might want to wear something a little more… you know?”

Keith took the corset from him and looked at it with a scrutinizing stare. “... What kind of torture device is this?”

“Huh?”

He held up the corset and glared at it some more. “It looks like a tourture device. Like, you get put into this and you tighten it until the ribs are crushed.”

“... Well technically it could, but like, you know...It’s meant to pinch your waist in a little and give you more curves.” Said Lance. “I think some are medical too or something? I don’t know… You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll consider it.” Keith looked through the box and found stockings and a nightgown made from see through material. “So, you really want me to wear this stuff?”

“Only if you want to!” Said Lance quickly. “I also ordered some craft stuff to make some more jewelry for your horns… Should be here in a day or two.”

Keith nodded and continued to look through everything. He seemed to be receptive to most of the things, but he seemed to really like the sweater. It looked like Keith had decided to live in it now. Lance was fine with it. As long as Keith was happy then Lance was happy.

After a few minutes there was a tap at the window. The two looked over to see a sleek, black raven with a letter attached to their leg. Lance opened the door and the bird stuck out its leg. He took the letter and the bird vanished into a puff of smoke.

The letter was from Lotor. He had found some interesting things concerning gods that he thought that Lance would like to look at. It did spark his interest. “Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna go out for a bit. I’ll be back later tonight okay? Want anything while I’m out?” He asked. “Some meat? Pork? Beef? Candy?”

“Can I have chicken?” Asked Keith like he wasn’t sure if that was an option.

Lance just smiled and kissed Keith sweetly on the lips. “Okay. Raw or deep fried?”

“I’d prefer raw, but cooked chicken skins are nice...”

“Okay, both.” He ruffled Keith’s hair a little and happily headed out. “Just put everything back into the box that you don’t want to wear right now and we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do with it when I get back. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Lance happily left and headed to Lotor’s place of business. He once again entered his office and sat down. Lotor smiled happily at him and offered him a drink, which Lance quickly declined. As they exchanged the normal pleasantries Lance couldn’t help but notice that Lotor’s hair seemed a little shorter than it was last time. 

“... Did you get a haircut?”

Lotor frowned a little and looked down at his hair. “Ah yes… Well, I recently went on a little fact finding mission and my hair happened to get burnt. I was due for a cut anyway. I had terrible split ends.”

“Oh? So where did you go?”

“A place called the Oasis.” Said Lotor. “It’s in Hell. It’s said that all life in hell sprung from there and populated the realm of hell. It is an ancient structure filled with all manner of strange creatures.” He reached into his desk and took out some papers. He handed them over to Lance. “It looks like Marcello might have been there too. I believe these are some field notes of his.”

Lance looked over the papers and frowned. They were indeed written in Marcello’s handwriting. It was a little surprising to see that Lortor found these, but at the same time it wasn’t at all. His uncle seemed to be really good at getting everywhere and causing so many problems for everyone.

_Day 12._   
_I have finally evaded some rather nasty flesh eating worms that were after me after I disturbed their nest. But it was a good lesson; never touch anything large, round, and pulsating. Could be full of flesh eating worms._

_Anyway, I finally got around to getting back on my bullshit and I found a few interesting things about some of the kings of hell and some of the gods of hell too. I can’t decide if it is better to be a king in hell or a god. There are a lot of positives and negatives for both._

_While gods are technically all powerful beings they have one very fatal flaw, they need believers. This is pretty well achieved through small cults based on fear and violence. Many demand lots of blood sacrifices which will help fuel their own power. The stronger the god the stronger the power of belief. As long as one person still believes that they exist the god will also exist and therefore the god is immortal. So the best way to kill a god is to wipe out their believers and their followers._

It seemed like Marcello was trying to figure out this history of gods and how they came into existence in the first place. It made sense. That man was a crazy whacko that went around and did a bunch of stupid shit. Since he was trying to become a god he was doing as much research as he could.

_Day 19_   
_Dragons are assholes._   
_Skeletons are assholes._   
_I will stab a hellhound._   
_Don’t even get me started on weird ass tentacle plants. I’m all for some fun, but for fuck’s sake these things were trying to rip me apart! One of them had a rib cage threaded through their tentacles!_

_Day 27_   
_Finally got something! So apparently some of the really, really base level gods that don’t really have much of a purpose or anything they kind of get some really odd powers. At least some of them anyway. Probably the first few gods anyway. Still gotta look into that._

_Anyway, apparently some gods are able to create things from their mind. Not that this is much of a surprise. Creation gods and such. But what I can see from this crap scratched on the walls it seems like some gods create things from their dreams. Like, if the god dreams of something 9/10 it will come to life._

Those words chilled Lance a little. He didn’t like the sound of that. Did that mean his dreams could become reality? Did that mean that damn sleep paralysis demon could become a real thing?

“So what do you think?” Asked Lotor.

“Well, I guess I found a way to possibly kill a god… Kill their followers. Also I think Marcello almost got raped by a tentacle demon?”

“Considering its hell I am pretty sure that the list of offences would be rape, murder, and then necrophilia.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” In all honesty it almost sounded like it would have been a fitting end for Marcello. That monster was a piece of work.

Lotor stood up from his desk and gave Lance a concerned look. “Are you okay? You don’t seem very… You look kind of ill.”

“I’m fine…” Said Lance quietly. “Really. Thanks for the help Lotor… Can I possibly ask you another favour?”

“By all means.”

“... The Iscariots have been annoying me.”

Lotor nodded a little and frowned. “I see, and you want me to get information on them? Cause trouble for them?”

“I don’t care. Anything to keep them occupied.” Said Lance coldly. “I just don’t want them sniffing around my house. It’s annoying and everyone in my house is paranoid about it.”

“... Your demon boyfriend?” He questioned.

“Yeah. Keith doesn’t like them at all.”

Lotor nodded and led Lance to the door. “Of course we will see what we can do.”

When Lance left, he sighed heavily and went about getting a pucked of fried chicken and some raw chicken thighs for Keith.

***

In all honesty, Keith did like the clothes that Lance had gotten him. Most of them were soft and comfortable. Something he was more than happy to sit around in. He also did like some of the more, personal stuff too. Keith wasn’t naive. He knew that Lance wanted him to wear a corset or some sexy lingerie because he thought he would look hot in it. 

He was a demon after all. He knew all about the lusts and desires of man. Keith was very intimately aware of Lance’s sexual interests. Even if they didn’t have sex as much as he would have liked. If Keith had his way, Lance wouldn’t be leaving their nest for weeks at a time. Testing Lance’s limits was fun. Humans were pretty fun in general.

Keith looked through the box of clothes and picked out a few ones that he thought would look nice. He pulled on a pair of black short-shorts, the corset and a pair of thigh high black socks. He thought it looked decent enough. The corset was a little tight but he did like how it looked on his body. Lance was right about it pinching in his waist a little. He then put the hoodie back on and smiled happily to himself. He felt good and he thought he looked nice.

Keith happily left the nest and went to see what Shiro thought of his sweater. It was kind of dumb, but it was one of the first things he had that was his own and not something he needed to wear for hunting or for modesty reasons.

He cautiously knocked on Shiro’s door and looked inside. He was thankful to see that Adam wasn’t here, but Shiro was. The manticore was sleeping. Keith couldn’t help himself. He snuck over towards the Manticore’s tail and watched as it lightly twitched. Keith grinned and lightly started to poke and prod the tail until he eventually slapped it.

Shiro hummed a little and looked down at Keith. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Keith walked up to Shiro and sat next to him. “Look at what Lance got for me.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Very red.” Said Shiro. “Those are very long socks. Are you wearing underwear?”

“Shorts.” Said Keith happily. “I like this sweater. It’s nice and fluffy. It feels like I’m getting held by something warm and soft all the time. Kind of protective… I like it.”

Shiro hummed a little and lightly ran one of his paws over Keith’s sweater. “That’s really nice. Kind of big though. Didn’t look like you were wearing any shorts when you were walking around.”

Keith shrugged. “I think that might be the point? I don’t really know. I just know I like it… So um, how is Adam?”

“Adam is good. He recently discovered a kind of potions lab in the house and spends most of his day there. As long as he’s having fun I don’t mind… I want to take him to Hell and show him around a little. I think he could enjoy it.”

“Really? You don’t think it will turn into a huge mess like what happened with Lance?”

“We’ll be sticking to flat lands and savannas.” Said Shiro. “The sunset there is beautiful.”

“I know… Maybe Lance would like to see it?”

“Maybe he would.” Said Shiro. “In fact, I’m sure he would. You just need to ask.”

“Yeah.” Keith hummed a little and started to groom Shiro’s mane. He was shocked to find that Shiro’s mane was already well groomed and untangled. Shiro’s mane wasn’t normally like this. Was Adam grooming him? He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Shiro noticed his littermate’s distress and lightly nuzzled him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing...”

“No seriously. Are you okay? You don’t normally stop right when you start combing through my mane.”

Keith shrugged. “It seems like you have someone else to do that for you now.”

“Oh Keith, Adam isn’t trying to take anything away from you. I just had a big knot in my mane and Adam attempted to comb it out. I don’t think he got everything though.” Said Shiro. “I think there are some knots really close to my neck that Adam couldn’t get. Help?”

With a sigh, Keith started to part Shiro’s mane and dig into his mane. It was easy enough to find the knots that Adam missed. There were a fair few against his skin. They were easy enough to detangle. Keith was happy with this. He smiled and ran his fingers through the knots and tugged them free. Shiro didn’t mind. He made pleasant enough sounds.

It made Keith smile a little and he felt useful again. Grooming was a very important part of their bond. Shiro was his whole world for centuries. Grooming was one of the few things that he needed to do to feel like they needed each other. As a Manticore, Shiro was more than happy to live by himself on the fringes of a Manticore pack. He himself was a demon that was completely indifferent about forming packs outside of familial ones. If the two of them lost this then they would end up drifting apart. 

“... Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re still a pack, right?”

“Of course you are.” Said Shiro. He sat up and gently nudged the younger demon. “You’re my littermate. You’ll always be my littermate. Don’t you ever doubt it.”

Keith shrugged. “Sorry. Just wondering if you’re moving on and don’t really need me around anymore… I mean, we aren’t related and you want to spend more time with Adam…”

“It’s okay. You know, I could say the same thing about you and Lance.”

“... True.”

“Yep. So don’t worry about it. Our rolls might change a little but we’re still a pack. Alright?”

“Okay… One question though.”

“Yeah?”

Keith pulled a small bone out of Shiro’s mane. “How did you get a chicken bone in your mane?”

“... Huh, that’s a thing.”

By the time Keith was done he had a small pile of chicken bones and a few he couldn’t identify. They were really small. He would have gone and thrown them out, but Shiro told him to leave it. Apparently he wanted to save them for a snack later. Keith would have done the same thing.

So Keith spent some time sliding up and down the halls with his socks. He was surprised by how slippery cotton on hardwood flooring was. There was no way he could climb with his feet if he didn’t poke some holes in them with his talons. He rounded a corner and almost crashed right into Lance.

“Whoa! Easy there.” Said Lance as he quickly caught him. “... I see you like sliding around in your new socks? They look good on you.”

“Thanks.”

“... You’re not wearing anything under that sweater, are you?”

“... Just because demons feel more comfortable walking around naked doesn’t mean I’m going to walk around with my junk hanging out.” Grumbled Keith. “All you overly modest humans. You see a tit or a dick and you all think it has something to do with sex.”

“Hey, I just don’t want you to scar Hunk or Pidge… Mostly Pidge.”

“Yeah, she would probably murder me…”

“And I don’t want her to murder you.” Lance kissed him gently and smiled. “So, I ended up buying some stuff for you, and for everyone else. Hope you’re okay with popcorn chicken.”

“Sounds good to me… But I want to show you something first.”

“Oh?”

Keith took off the jumper and showed him what he was wearing underneath. In an instant Lance’s face went bright red at the situation. Keith didn’t really understand why Lance was acting all embarrassed. He wasn’t the one standing in the middle of a hallway wearing nothing but socks, shorts, and a corset.

“... Does this not look good?” Asked Keith quietly.

“No, it looks fine.” Said Lance quickly. “It really does. I just… Put the sweater back on. You can’t just strip down like that outside of our bedroom.”

Keith pouted a little but put the sweater back one. “But I watch TV where people wear this kind of stuff all the time.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Crime shows?”

“Maybe? The people wearing this stuff usually end up dead.”

“Yeah, unfortunately most people that wear that stuff outside of the bedroom end up getting murdered. Humans are fucked up like that.”

“Huh… Okay. Let’s eat?”

Lance smiled and happily held his hand. “Yeah. Come on. You get first choice between raw chicken and popcorn chicken.”

Keith smiled and happily followed Lance down to the kitchen. “So, what did you end up doing?”

“Oh, just went to Allura’s for a bit. She heard through the grapevine that we went to hell and wanted to know if I grabbed some stuff while I was there.”

“Oh, okay.” Keith wasn’t sure if that really was the case. Something seemed a little off about what Lance said, but he didn’t mind. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal. It didn’t seem like Lance had gone and done anything too sketchy, so he didn’t bother digging any deeper. It wasn’t that big a deal, right? Right?


	33. Couple's therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to Slav for couples therapy. Enough said. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance loudly as he flopped on the couch. He was emotionally drained. He had gone to see Slav again and started talking more about Keith, and the therapist suggested that maybe they should do some couple’s therapy. To be honest it kind of surprised Lance that they suggested it, but they said they would bring it up with Keith and if he agreed they would both be there next week. Slav was thrilled and rattled off some statistics and something about red socks.

It was weird, but Lance didn’t care. He needed to figure out how to tell Keith he wanted him to come to therapy with him. He wasn’t sure if he would be very receptive to the idea. He might just brush it off as a dumb human thing and not want to do it. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something fluffy and red slowly stalking towards him. Moments later, two fluffy, red arms wrapped around Lance’s shoulders and Keith started kissing his neck and behind his ear Keith had been in a good mood ever since Lance had bought him some new clothes. Keith hadn’t taken off the sweater in three days. He’d have to negotiate with Keith to wash it before it started to smell bad.

Lance smiled and gently squeezed Keith’s hand. “Well aren’t you happy today?”

“Yep. Because you’re back.” He kissed Lance’s cheek. “... Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yes… No… I um… Look Keith, Slav wants us to do some couple’s therapy.” Said Lance. “So… I’d like you to come with me? Please?”

Keith seemed a little surprised. “What’s couple’s therapy?”

“It’s where people go to therapy together to talk about their problems as couples and stuff. If you’re okay with that.” Said Lance. “You don’t have to go and do it if you don’t want to.”

“... Will this help you?” Asked Keith. “Like, will this help with your PTSD?”

“Slav thinks it might.”

Keith frowned a little but nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. As long as you feel like it’s a good idea I’ll go.”

“Thanks love. I really appreciate it… Also I need to wash your sweater.”

“Why?”

“It’s starting to smell.”

“But it smells like me.”

Lance pouted. “Nope. Starting to smell stinky.”

“I can’t smell it.”

“Dude, you eat raw meat and a bunch of other weird crap.” Said Lance. “You have no sense of smell.”

Keith pouted. “Yes I do… I like how you smell.”

Lance could feel himself starting to blush. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Keith happily nuzzled his neck. “It’s not just the smell of your sin’s either, though that does smell nice. Very sweet. But I can smell your individual smell. Smells salty like the ocean. I like it. It’s comforting.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” Keith licked Lance’s neck.

Lance shuddered and cringed. “Ew! Don’t lick me! That’s gross!”

Keith huffed and pouted. “You are confusing. Sometimes I can lick you and other times I can’t lick you. Why?”

“When are you allowed to lick me?!”

“When we have sex.” Said Keith in a matter of fact kind of way. “When we have sex you let me lick your dick and shove my tongue up your ass.”

Lance sputtered. “Th-that’s different!”

Pidge snorted a laugh from her position on a chair next to the couch. She had been previously watching videos on her phone. “Alright, that was a weird time for my video to end. I did not need to hear that Lance likes getting tongue fucked.”

“Oh my god!” Whined Lance. He picked up a couch cushion and tried to smother himself.

***

At Lance’s next appointment Keith went with him and sat in a chair. Keith was a little unhappy that Lance had gone and washed his favourite sweater. So Keith ended up wearing a cropped jacket instead. It was just as nice as the sweater, but not nearly as large and fluffy. Slav was going through some papers at his desk.

“... So Keith, Lance tells me you are a Sin-Eater?” Asked Slav. “Your species tends to prefer solitude, yes? How are you going living with so many people so close?”

Keith shrugged. “The house is big so I only really talk to people when I want to talk to them or when they want to talk to me.”

Slav quickly jotted down a few notes while still going through other pieces of paper. “Yes, yes… very good. Okay. So Keith. Is there anything you yourself feel like you two need to talk about? Any issues?”

“... Not really.” Keith wasn’t good under pressure.

Slav gave him a questioning look and started to go through other papers. “Well, Lance seems to have a few things he would like to talk to you about. Lance, if you would.”

Keith was a little confused, but looked over at Lance. The man kind of just shrugged and almost nervously picked at his shirt. “Well… I just… I get confused by some of the things you do and I’m not really sure how to bring it up. Like, you never really cared about how you looked before, but suddenly you seemed to get obsessed with making yourself look nice…”

“... It’s because humans like pretty things.” Said Keith quietly. “You’re the kind of person that likes pretty things… You might lose interest in me if I don’t look nice.”

The room was quiet for a moment before Slav spoke up. “So Lance, how do you feel about this?”

Lance was shocked. “Keith, am I really that shallow? I like you for you. I’m not the kind of guy that would just dump you because you don’t look a certain way?”

Keith shrugged and started to pick at the fabric on the chair. “I… I don’t know. Humans are strange to me. I don’t want to mess up and do something that will make you dislike me… I mean, if you end up not liking me you can literally banish me back to hell. If you looked it up you could completely cut me off from going back to the human realm.”

He glanced over at Lance and was surprised to see the look of shock on Lance’s face. This was a matter of fact that Lance could do that. But Keith felt like it was the same in any relationship. Like, could anyone ever really trust someone else to not hurt them when they enter a relationship? Lance was a kind of god. Keith knew that if he really pissed Lance off he could just straight up murder him.

“Are you afraid of me?” Asked Lance. “Are you afraid I’m going to hurt you?”

“Not really.”

Slav cleared his throat. “If I might interject, most gods, or beings with god-like powers, try to avoid relationships with lesser beings for similar reasons. The not gods tend to feel like servants to the other and like they have to appease them to avoid repercussions. Now Keith, despite this power dynamic, why do you not think that Lance will hurt you?”

“I’m not going to hurt him!” Cried Lance.

Slav put his hand up to silence him. “Now, now. I am asking Keith for his opinion.”

Keith shrugged. “Lance hasn’t ever shown himself to be a violent guy. He’s always been pretty nice to me. He’s taking care of me. Buys me nice things. He’s always making sure I feel happy and safe. He’s patient with me when I don’t understand what human things are happening. He makes me feel happy and safe… And I want to protect him.”

“Keith…”

Slav nodded and scribbled down some notes. “So you don’t feel worried that Lance will take advantage of you?”

Keith shrugged. “The only time he’s told me what to do was when both our lives were in danger. I might be a demon he summoned, but Lance has always given me my autonomy… I just don’t want Lance to get tired of me one day…”

Slav raised an eyebrow and scribbled down a few more notes. “What is the reason that you do not want to be left alone? Your species is known for being comfortable living in solitude for centuries. What is different?”

“... I um… I’m only just out of my kit phase so…”

“Ah, I see…” Slav scribbled down some more notes. “You only just would have topped living with your Dar and Sar… Though it would be Dar for you. I’m guessing you are not used to living alone?” Keith just shrugged and Slav made a few more notes while humming and making other weird little noises. He quickly turned his attention back to Lance. “Is there anything else you want to talk to Keith about? Remember this is a safe space to talk about your thoughts and feelings.”

Keith watched Lance. He watched him nervously shift in his chair, and it kind of made his heart sink. Did Lance have things he didn’t want to tell him? Sure Lance had a right to privacy, but did he really have things he felt like he couldn’t talk with Keith normally? He started to feel bad.

Lance sighed. “I just… It’s kind of hard because I’m apparently a god and I’m still developing my powers. I’m getting spoon fed information at random and I have no idea if one day I’m going to do something that will hurt everyone and I won’t be able to fix it because I don’t know what I can and can’t do anymore… Like, I don’t know.. I just wish I had some rules. I don’t even really know what kind of god I am… And then there’s all that stuff with Lotor...”

“Wait, what’s going on with Lotor?” Asked Keith. This was the first time he was hearing about this.

“Please don’t interrupt.” Said Slav.

Lance shook his head. “No, it’s fine…” He looked over at Keith. “I’ve been in contact with Lotor… His coven is looking for a new god to be their patron and he’s asked me if I’ll take the job when I know what I am… and I… I’ve been asking him for some help with stuff…”

“...” Keith sunk down in his chair. He was completely dumbfounded. “Lance, that was really, really stupid. You don’t do those kinds of things with covens that you aren’t affiliated with!”

Lance just looked confused. “Why? Lotor’s been a pretty good third party so far and-”

“He’s a witch without a patron god!” Snapped Keith. “He’s doing this stuff for you so you’ll be indebted to him! You’ll feel obliged to be his patron god!”

“I’m not going to be his coven’s god!”

“You say that now but he’s gonna push it on you!”

“He’s not pushing anything on me!”

“Why couldn’t you just ask Kolivan or Krolia about coven stuff?”

“Because the Marmora coven is so secretive!” Snapped Lance. “I don’t get straight answers from them! They don’t need to give me a straight answer! They don’t need a god, they already have Marmora!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Krolia would give you a straight answer. When has she ever done anything bad.”

“...” Lance held up his hand and pointed to the ring on his finger. “Krolia was the one that convinced me to put this on my hand in the first place. She was kind of the one that started this whole warlock thing in the first place?”

Keith went to bark back something, but he couldn’t. If Lance didn’t put on that ring that helped channel his magic and energy he probably would have lived the rest of his life as a normal human. Lance would be relatively fine. He’d just have an annoyed demon hanging around him for a long time.

He started to feel very guilty. Lance probably didn’t like him that much after all. If Lance summoned a different demon then maybe Lance’s life would have worked out different? He felt like he went and kind of ruined his life. Something that Keith hadn’t really put much thought into before.

“... Did I ruin your life?” He asked.

Lance looked confused. “What? No. It was Marcello, remember? He had that full crazy, evil genius plan to steal my body. He had this in the works for years. We didn’t stand a chance.”

“... I’m still sorry.” Muttered Keith. “Nothing really good comes from being around a demon, huh?”

“What? No Keith. That’s not what I am trying to say.”

“Sure seems like it…”

“May I interject again?” Asked Slav. “Demons are not inherently evil or bad luck. Like all things it depends on the choices of a sentient being. A knife isn’t a murder weapon someone plunges into someone else. Poisons can be used for all manner of things besides harming people. For example, silver is very useful for many things but is poisonous to many fae and demons. It all depends on the conscious actions of a conscious individual.”

“I guess…” Muttered Keith. He still felt like he was kind of responsible for this.

Lance sighed. “Keith, I’m not blaming you for anything. I’m just going through some stuff… Magic things are still stressing me out… I’m sorry.”

“Ah, what did we talk about Lance?” Asked Slav.

“I should stop apologizing for being unhappy?”

“Yes.”

“... Okay.”

There was a small buzz from Slav’s desk and he quickly looked over at a clock and hit it. “I think we made some good progress today. I would like the two of you to come back next week so we can talk about this more. You two seem to have a few issues that I think we need to look a little more in depth at.”

The two agreed and left the office. The atmosphere was kind of tense the whole way back and Keith didn’t know what to do. He did want to talk more about Lance not trusting the Marmora coven and talking with another cove. But he didn’t know how to bring it up with him.

When they got home they parted ways and Keith went looking for his sweater. He found it in the dryer. He quickly pulled it back on and went to find Lance. The man was back in their nest and just looking at his phone.

“...” Keith climbed into the nest and lightly nuzzled Lance a few times. The man just hummed a little and kept scrolling through his phone. Keith still had no idea what Lance was looking at, but he wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. So Keith did the only thing he could do at a time like this. He sat up, lifted his sweater, and did his best to stuff Lance in with him.

Lance yelped a little in surprise. “Keith?!” He squirmed a little and managed to stick his head out through the neck hole and pouted at the demon. “Why?”

“Because I love you?”

“Hmm…”

“Well I do…”

“I know you do.” Said Lance. “... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lotor.”

Keith shrugged. “You have your reasons, right?”

“Yeah, but they aren’t really good ones.” Muttered Lance. He sighed and rested his head against Keith’s shoulder. “Next time I go to Lotor’s place I’ll bring you along with me…”

“Really?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. I should have brought you with me the first time. I’m sorry I didn’t do it earlier.”

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not.” Said Lance. “Your input is important to me… And you know more about this magic stuff than I do. I just don’t like making you worry about me… I don’t like anyone worrying about me.”

“... Why? We’re boyfriends. We should be allowed to worry about each other?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know… Slav says it’s because I’m the baby of the family and kind of had to take a back seat when it came to a lot of things… Like, my siblings got most of the money since they were there first and kind of got to choose what they wanted to do and I… I um… Sometimes I would ask for things like toys and stuff but we didn’t have the money for it growing up. I just kind of made do with everything… So yeah… I just got tired of asking for things that I knew I couldn’t get… Guess it really carried over into adulthood.”

Keith frowned and hugged him tightly. “It’s okay Lance… I’m more than happy to listen to you.”

“Thank you… So you’re coming back to the next session, right?”

“Well yeah, if you want me to?”

“I’d like that.” Said Lance quietly as he relaxed into Keith.


	34. Observation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, it's been a not minute since I posted a chapter for this fic. Enjoy some of the smut at the start or like, scroll past it if you want. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith felt things might have gotten a little better between them. They had gone to a few more sessions with Slav and Keith felt like they might have been making progress. Keith opened up a little about how he had some abandonment issues since his Dar just suddenly died in that fire, and Lance talked about how he was scared of being used by people. 

Lance had a lot more to talk about than Keith did, but he didn’t mind. Lance needed to talk and Keith was happy to sit there and listen. Lance seemed a lot happier when they came back from Slav’s together. Which usually translated very well to the bedroom. If Keith knew that doing couples therapy would mean Lance’s libido improved he might have suggested it earlier.

Currently Lance had slumped against Keith’s chest, unable to even lift himself off of Keith’s cock. Not that Keith minded. He liked having Lance on his lap, warming his cock. Keith made a pleased sound and happily leaned back against the pillows with his arms wrapped around his lover’s hips.

“Fuck…” Moaned Lance. “I can’t feel my legs anymore… Can’t move them… They’re jelly…”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s fine. Just catch your breath.”

“Fuck, you still want to go?”

“Yep. I still haven’t finished yet. Still hard.” He rolled his hips slightly for emphasis, making Lance gasp. Keith smirked and gently rubbed Lance’s stomach. “You’re a total size queen.”

“Good thing you’re dick is stupid big.” Panted Lance. He lightly punched his arm. “Stop moving… Fuck, your dick is in my stomach…”

“Sure hope not… We’d probably need to go to a hospital If that was the case.”

“It’s an expression.”

“Ah…” Keith nuzzled Lance’s neck and cheek. “So, do you want off my dick?”

“Move me and I’ll poke you in the eye.”

“So scary.”

“Damn right.” Grumbled Lance. “... Why did I think reverse cowgirl was a good idea?”

Keith shrugged. “I like looking at your butt?”

“True…” Lance sighed.

“Something wrong?”

“Nah, I just… Walking is going to be hard tomorrow.”

Keith raised his eyebrow. “Oh? Do you need to walk around somewhere? I can go and do what you need to do tomorrow.”

“I um, I actually need to talk to Lotor tomorrow…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah… Come with me?”

“Of course… But maybe I should just pull out now?” Keith carefully put his hands on Lance’s hips and slowly started to pull Lance off himself. Lance whined and Keith smirked, he happily let him go. He’d only moved Lance less than a centimeter off himself but the way Lance cried out it sounded like Keith was savaging him again. “You like that babe?”

“F-fuck, yeah… yeah I do.” Whined Lance. “A-are you close?”

“Yeah, I’m close. Bare with me for a minute.” 

With one arm he pulled Lance’s legs together and pulled him up, almost completely pulling him off. With his other arm Keith practically shoved his fingers into Lance’s mouth to keep him quiet. He loved his sweet moans, but he knew the others probably didn’t share his enthusiasm for Lance’s sweet moans. Lance didn’t seem to mind as he eagerly sucked and drooled around his fingers.

Lance’s body suddenly tensed up and he whimpered. Keith groaned as he thrusted deep inside Lance and came with a groan. He lied back down with Lance still held in his arms. Keith hummed happily as he ran his fingers over his stomach. While he very slowly pulled out. Lance whined a little but didn’t make much of a fuss about it.

Keith knew he was going to get elbowed for saying this, but he would risk it. “Did you just orgasm without actually cumming?”

“...” Lance lightly kicked him. “Stupid demon with your stupid demon dick…”

“Hey, you’re the one that decided to climb on my dick tonight.”

Lance pouted and lightly poked his arm. Not like you stopped me. You love fucking my ass.”

“Yes.”

“... You could at least pretend to be modest.”

“But why?” Asked Keith. “Your ass is nice and I like having sex with you.” He hummed softly and started to run his claws through Lance’s hair. “I like making you feel good. You deserve to feel good.”

“...”

“Lance?”

“...”

“Lance?” Keith very lightly rolled Lance onto his back and frowned. “... Seriously? You fell asleep?”

***

Meeting with Lotor and his other witches was weird. Keith didn’t really like being around them and the witches seemed to be a little put off by him. Probably didn’t help that Keith was baring his fangs at them. Keith was on high alert as Lance and Lotor. They talked and talked about nonsense. Stuff about demons and covens.

That was until Lotor started talking about the Oasis. He had heard of that place. Very pretty, but very dangerous. The cradle of life in hell. He hadn’t been there before, but his dar had told him many stories of the place. But apparently Marcello, the crazy fuck, had gone there and written a detailed diary of his time at the Oasis.

“And what do you know about the Oasis?” Asked Lotor.

Keith frowned. “You want me to tell you about what demon’s know about the Oasis? There are a lot of myths about that place.”

“We’re still looking at gods.” Said Lance. “Like how they came about and stuff. I just… Marcello was thinking about trying to become a god and he went to the Oasis. He’s always scheming and trying to pull some crazy shit… What could he have been up to there?”

Keith shrugged. “Well demons have their own creation stories and um… Basically the oasis has always been here and the first gods came from the Oasis and it just… um… They were just there? Look, I never really gave much of a shit about these things.”

Lotor rolled his eyes and made an annoyed sound. “Typical…”

“Excuse me?” Hissed Keith. “What do you mean typical?”

“Demons don’t keep track of their history and their past.” Said Lotor. “Many demons still prefer oral history or are too stupid to remember anything past their last meal.”

“... Are you calling me stupid?”

“Take it however you feel.” Said Lotor. “I do not care.”

Keith wanted to punch that aroggant fuck in the face. The only thing stopping him from doing so was Lance glaring at him. He just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “If you’re so smart how come you haven’t been able to figure it out yet?”

Lotor rolled his eyes and continued to talk to Lance. Keith kept glaring at Lotor the whole time. He wanted to kick Lotor’s ass and take Lance back home. The man was limping slightly and moving kind of funny after their fun the previous night.

***

“I still don’t get why we’re watching this.” Said Ezor as she spun around in her chair. The four left over of the old Diabazzel clan that escaped with Lotor. Now left without a coven, they are reduced to finding a suitable god or powerful demon to make a pact with. “If Lotor is so hell bent on making Lance our new god why can’t he just force him? There has to be a spell for that somewhere!”

Acxa shrugged. “It’s just how it is. There is some merit in not trying to force a god to come into existence like other covens.” While it wasn’t unusual for someone to force themselves to become a god out of desperation, these usually weren’t the most stable of gods. Something Lotor wanted to avoid.

Zethrid made a dismissive sound. “Lotor’s taking too long. Our magic is already starting to dissipate. Nartis is starting to bump into things again. She needs magic to see… Or whatever her version of seeing is.”

The mute Nartis just shrugged and extended her walking stick. She was the most reliant on magic in their coven. She’d been using it ever since she was young to be able to see. It used a lot of mental strength for her to develop some kind of visual representation of the world around her. She seemed okay with losing her sight again, but everyone else was worried for her

Acxa sighed and went back to watching the monitors. Lotor had seemed to really want Lance to be their new patron god. It was interesting to say the least. Acxa could see the logic in it though. Lance was both the most powerful and least powerful god there was. He was dangerous because he could literally cause the end of the world if he wanted to. 

With the snap of his fingers he could rip open the gates of hell, completely bypassing all safety and security measures that had been put in place to secure the other gates. The gate hidden in Jerusalem? Didn’t matter how many rabies were chanting their prayers and ancient spells. The doors would get blown open and all manner of demons would swarm the middle east in a matter of hours. In a week they would reach South Africa and almost the whole West side of China. Even the gate hidden in the Mariana trench, held down by water pressure alone would burst open. In less than a month the waters would be flooded with water born demons. Most of which would crawl onto land and destroy coastal cities Then there was the gate right under Lance’s home. If that one opened the whole continent would be lost in a matter of days.

Lance’s status as a god didn’t come from the powers he possessed currently, but what he represented. Like a Grim Reaper that represented death and the end of everything, Lance was a powerful symbol. Him just existing was more than enough to make even the strongest fae and demon king shake in their boots.

Forcing someone like that into proper god status would no doubtably end in every door getting thrown open at once and the death of all. At least with Lotor’s slow approach this was less likely to happen. Lance needed to be mentally ready for this task.

Ezor sighed loudly and started kicking at the ground. “Look, I know this magic thing is really important and all, but can’t we just get a demon that’s a little more… I don’t know, powerful? Like, already powerful? Waiting for Lance to… You think he will ever be as strong as Marcello?”

The other witches shuddered at the thought. Lance’s insane, necromancer uncle was… He single handedly obliterated their previous coven in an overly bloody and gory fashion. It was scary and the only reason they weren’t murdered was because they said they wanted to leave the Diabazzel coven. If Marcello actually wanted to murder them all they would have.

Zethrid frowned. “I like a good fight, but holy shit I’m surprised anyone was able to take down Marcello… He’s a fucking psychopath.”

“Maybe they just got lucky?” Suggested Ezor. “Marcello might have been having a bit of a rough time and they got the upper hand?”

“Maybe.” Muttered Acxa. None of them really knew what happened after they fled the conven that night. They were just happy to escape with their lives and knew they needed to deal with the fallout of both the coven no longer existing and their prosthetic’s company getting forced into freefall. 

“... Who the fuck is that?” Asked Zethrid. The other witches looked at a monitor and saw a man just casually walking down a restricted hallway. They looked way too carefree and happy to be there. So yeah, they were immediately suspicious of him.

Acxa frowned. “Yeah, I’ll go and check this out…” She quickly left the security room and headed to the hallways where the man was. 

She immediately spotted the man and to say something was off about him was an understatement. The stranger had messy brown hair and tanned skin. He was humming flight of the bumblebees as he looked around at the doors, obviously looking for something.

“Hey!” She snapped. “Who are you.”

The man froze for a beat before he turned around and grinned at her. His eyes were a sick acid green. “Greetings and salutations! So nice to see you. Just coming by to borrow a few little nick nacks. That’s all.”

“I won’t repeat myself again. Who are you?” Asked Acxa again.

The man frowned and crossed his arms. “Alright. Fine. Miss bossy… My name is Marcello McClain. Full time Necromancer, little known time traveler, and part time kazoo player. Right now just doing the time traveling bit, but I do have a kazoo.” He actually took a little red kazoo out of his pocket and played it for her.

“... Are you seriously Marcello?” Acxa had difficulty believing that. This man had to be in his mid twenties at most. As far as she knew Marcello was proud of his aging appearance and didn’t shy away from looking old. He apparently had silver hair. This person was much too young.

Marcello nodded. “Yeah, but like I said I’m doing some time travel right now and well… I might be older since this is the future and stuff… Though it is hard to tell some days… anyway, I’m just going to grab my thing and go. Don’t wanna bother you more than I have to.”

Acxa knew better than to piss Marcello off. Even if he wasn’t as powerful as he was when he got older, she didn’t want to risk him doing something to her in the past if she messed with his plans. “Just tell me what you want and I’ll get it for you so you can leave.”

He seemed surprised. “Oh? You’re going to help?”

“It’s easier to do it this way than forcing you to go. It probably wouldn’t end well for me.” Said Acxa. “So what do you want.”

“I want… A thumb.” Said Marcello.

“... A finger.”

“A finger?”

The necromancer nodded. “Yep. A little itchy trigger finger. Need it for something I am making. You gonna help me out?”

“... Sure.” Acxa was more than happy to cut her losses. She took Marcello to a storage room and found him an index finger from a box and gave it to him.

The necromancer thanked her and vanished before her eyes. She just sighed and went back to the security room to tell the others what happened. She needed to fill out a form for the missing part. She’d also need to tell Lotor that Marcello happened to stop by for a visit.


	35. God ego

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven[t forgotten about this fic! I just got caught up with a few others! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was starting to think that Keith was some weird cat demon guy. Like, Lance was just laying in their nest staring off into space when Keith came over and started to gently poke at his face. He poked him a few times in the cheek before tilting his head and pouting. He then poked him in the face again and huffed.

“Why do you do this to me?” Asked Lance.

“Because.” Keith poked him a few more times.

“Just because?”

“Just because.”

Lance sighed and shook his head. “You are insufferable sometimes. You know that?”

“Yep.” Keith poked him again. “You aren’t thinking of going to the Oasis are you? Lotor sounds like he knows what he is talking about, but he only sounds like it. He doesn’t know shit about the gods of hell.”

“And what do you know about the gods of hell?”

“Enough to stay the fuck away from them.” Said Keith. He frowned and poked Lance’s face some more. “I stay the fuck away from gods. Anything big enough to try and kill me or swallow me whole I stay the fuck away from. The gods of hell are one of them.”

Lance swatted his hand away. “Must you keep poking me?”

“Yes. You’re squishy.”

Lance pouted and pulled Keith down. Keith was wearing that wonderful fluffy red jumper. The demon happily snuggled into him and made happy sounds. Apparently Keith really wanted to be pressed up against Lance after all but didn’t want to say anything. He really was a cat.

“You’re also warm.” Said Keith.

“Yeah…”

“... Can you talk to Krolia and Kolivan about what Lotor was talking to you about?” Asked Keith. He had been pushing Lance to talk more to Krolia and Kolivan about the issues he was having. Lance said he wanted to talk to Lotor because he seemed like he was relatively more objective than other witches. He had told Keith he was worried that they could manipulate him, but Keith pointed out that Lotor could be doing the same thing.

“Fine, I’ll talk to them.” Muttered Lance. 

“Thank you… They aren’t bad people.”

“I know they aren’t. The Marmora coven has really helped me out with all this...”

“Thank you.” Keith nuzzled him some more. “I really appreciate it.”

Lance patted Keith’s head, trying to avoid his horns. “... Do you just want to see Krolia again?”

“... Maybe.”

He grinned. “Aw, if you want to you can go and visit her anytime you want. You know that right? You don’t need me to go with you to see her.”

“... I like it when we do things together.”

“That’s cute, but go and see your sar.”

Keith pouted and huffed against his neck. “What if I wanna do something after?”

“... You mean like a date?” Asked Lance. “You want to go on a date?”

“Maybe…”

Lance couldn’t help but smile at his lover. He was so awkward when he tried to do things for him. Just fumbling around like a small child trying to figure out what their parents like. What they would need to make people like them. It was amusing and sweet. But mostly amusing. It probably shouldn’t have been as amusing to him as it was, but it was.

“Well, I’d love to go on a date with you.” He kissed Keith and grinned. “I can’t wait to see what you have planned love.”

***

Keith had no idea what he was meant to do for a date. He only had a few hours to figure it out. He and Lance had gone to see Krolia again and was actually talking to her about god stuff. Keith just sat in a corner, pouting a little because Lance wouldn’t let him wear his fluffy hoodie outside. Said it was just a thing to wear at home. Which was dumb.

He quietly stewed in his own thoughts as he only half heartedly listened to what Lance and Krolia were talking about. Something about gods and egos. It seemed to be something Keith hadn’t really considered that much when it came to gods, but Krolia was very adamant that it was very important.

“You have to be very careful with your ego and the god ego. If those two start to blend then you could have some serious problems.” Said Krolia. “Gods are naturally selfish creatures that demand tribute and acknowledgement from lesser beings. Even the kindest ones demand acknowledgement.”

Lance nodded and pulled a face. “Huh, I see… So… Are you saying I am going to start to hear voices in my head?”

“Not really. It’s more like a feeling of entitlement… Think… Super Karen levels of entitlement. Feeling like the world owes you things for existing.” Said Krolia. “You might get angry if people that paid attention to you don’t anymore.”

“Alright…” Lance seemed troubled, and Keith wanted to see if there was something wrong, but Lance might not want to talk about it in front of Krolia. He would talk to him later.

Krolia frowned a little and drummed her fingers against her knee. “The god ego is dangerous and needs to be kept in check. If you find yourself slipping and starting to revel in the attention and adoration that others are giving you, you need to try and humble yourself.”

Lance nodded and frowned. Something was clearly a little off with him. “I… Sometimes I kind of think things… It’s subtle, but it’s like… I think I’m better than others? It’s like narcissism?”

“Honestly it can be hard to tell if the narcissism is the god ego talking or your own personality. Especially because it’s so subtle.” Said Krolia calmly. “It is… difficult… If I can give advice, it might be best to not pursue godhood. Becoming a god is not a good thing. You become practically immortal and it can be a lonely life…”

“Aren’t you technically immortal?”

“As long as the coven keeps their pact with Marmora then we are blessed with extremely long lives.” Corrected Krolia. “I will eventually growl old and die. But not for a few hundred years yet.” She smiled at him. “Is that all you need?”

“Yeah… Thanks for that.” Lance stood up and stretched. “I’ll just wait for you outside.” He walked off and let Keith have some alone time with his sar.

When they were alone Keith walked over to her. “Hi sar… I missed you.”

“You should visit more often.” She said calmly. “I want to see more of you kit.”

Keith pouted. “Not a kit…”

“You’ll always be my kit.” She held her arms out and the two of them embraced each other in a hug. She hummed softly and gently patted his head. “I still missed you. I love you so much. Are things going well for you? Are you eating well?”

“Yeah, I’m eating well.” Said Keith. “I might go hunting next week.”

“That’s good.”

Keith smiled a little. “Um… Do you think there is something wrong with Lance?”

Krolia shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. But you need to be careful. He’s still technically a god. As a god he has a lot of cosmic warping powers that you can’t even fathom… Lance can start the end of the world.”

“I know…”

“Please try to keep him as placated as much as possible.”

“I will.”

“Good… Have you done more research into your angel side?”

Keith shrugged. “What’s the point?” He asked. “I mean, what the hell can I find out? If I want answers I might need to go to hell and ask larger, dangerous, and objectively evil demons… I don’t feel like getting destroyed just for looking for knowledge where I shouldn’t…”

“Oh Keith…” She hugged him tightly. “I’m going to keep looking for you. I’m not going to stop until you get some answers. Okay?”

“O-okay. Thanks.”

“No problem.” She patted his back and directed him to the door. “Now get going. Lance is waiting for you.”

***

Lance had a lot to think about. He felt like he had experienced that god ego thing for a while now. He knew he liked it when Keith was doing things for him and kind of just looking after him, but who wouldn’t like it when their hot demon boyfriend was making him feel good? It was annoying.

Keith walked out of the building and lightly nudged him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good. So what did you want to do?”

“... Um. Follow me.” He held Lance’s hand and quickly walked down the street. Lance had a feeling that Keith didn’t know what to do for a date. It was kind of cute. Eventually Keith stopped in front of a pizza place. “... You like pizza?”

Lance chuckled and smiled. “Yeah. I like pizza.”

Keith nodded and pulled Lance inside, quickly sitting down at a booth. “Let’s have dinner here.”

“Oh? But you can’t eat-”

“I can.” Said Keith quickly. “I just… Not a lot of it…” He looked down at the table and nervously tapped his claws against the table. “I… I’ve watched a lot of TV and dates are things people usually do when they go out to eat at places together… So we’re going to do that.” 

Lance smiled at him and chuckled. “You want to do human date stuff?”

Keith nodded. He had a determined look on his face. “Yes.”

Lance was happy that Keith was trying hard for him. Usually if they went out to eat Lance would have grabbed take away from somewhere and a tray of raw meat from a supermarket. Then they would eat their food somewhere quiet. This was probably the first time they had eaten out anywhere together.

“Okay. I’ll go and order us a pizza to share.” He said. Keith looked like he wanted to say something, but Lance quickly cut him off. “Do you even know what kind of pizza they have here or how to order a pizza?”

Keith sank down in the booth seat and huffed. He obviously wanted to pretend that this wasn’t just a spare of the moment thing he didn’t just pull out of his ass. Lance happily ordered them an extra, deep dish, large meat lover’s pizza with extra toppings. He went back and sat down. Keith still looked a little moody.

Lance chuckled and lightly tapped Keith’s foot under the table. “Come on Keith. Don’t get upset. I really like this date idea. You put a lot of thought into this. I’m human. I like pizza. Pizza date is a good idea.”

“... How much was it?”

“Hmm, the pizza’s here are pretty big and I got extra stuff so… About twenty five?”

Keith nodded and took his wallet out of his pocket. He took a fifty out and handed it to Lance. “Here.”

“... Keith, that’s a fifty.”

He looked down at the note and frowned at it. “Not enough?”

“What? Not that’s twice as much.”

“Ah, right.” Keith went to rip it in half when Lance quickly stopped him. 

“Dude! What are you doing?”

Keith tilted his head in confusion. “... But you said it was twice as much? I was trying to halve it?”

“You don’t… That’s not…” Lance sighed. “That’s not how money works… I’m going to teach you about money. Okay? Just put your money away for now.”

“... Okay.” Keith put his wallet away and looked very embarrassed.

Lance adored how silly Keith could be sometimes. He was trying so hard to do good for him and it made him happy. He liked it when Keith did these things. He really loved and cared for him. Keith should do more things like that for him. Take him to more places. Give him money. Kiss him. Hold him. Love him. Praise him. He deserved it. After all Lance was a go-

The cashier called out for him to let him know his pizza was ready. Lance quickly got up and took it from them. He sat back down at the table and opened it up. It smelled so good and made his mouth water.

“Delicious. I made sure to get the meat one with extra meat.” Said Lance with a grin. “Sure it’s cooked, but I know you like meat so all the meat for you.”

Keith nodded a little and cautiously took a slice. He looked at it. Lance knew for a fact that Keith hadn’t eaten deep dish pizza before and he looked like he was going to struggle. It was adorable. He got a fair bit of sauce down his chin and across his cheeks. He didn’t look too fussed by it since Keith kind of got extremely bloody when he usually ate.

“You got a bit of sauce on your face.” Lance picked up a napkin and happily wiped the sauce off of Keith’s face. Keith pouted a little and his nose twitched. “Aw, don’t be like that you messy eater.”

“Not a messy eater…” Muttered Keith. “You guys are too fussy.”

“If you say so.” Lance picked up a slice and happily ate it. After the second bite some of the topping slipped off and hit his shirt. “...”

“...” Keith snickered.

“... Don’t you say anything.” Muttered Lance as he cleaned himself up. “Not a word.” Keith had a smug look on his face as he happily ate his pizza while Lance wondered how he was going to get pizza sauce off of his white shirt.


	36. Dreams to reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess whose powers are working way to well? Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Dreaming again that night Lance’s sleep paralysis demon was back again, Still crouched over the side of the nest. Just staring and whispering for him to give up his body. Lance had honestly grown bored of this constant treatment by his mind and just wanted it to go away.

_“Give it back…”_ It whispered. _“Give it back. Give it back. Give it back.”_

Lance rolled his eyes and wanted to just go back to sleep. This was boring. All this creep could do was whisper nasty things to him and look scary. He looked down at Keith’s hand that was draping over his body and looked at the colour shift in his skin tone. The skin around his fingers was a dark purple, almost black colour that slowly faded and shifted into a more human skin tone.

_“Don’t ignore me.”_ Growled the demon. _“Give it back to me.”_

Keith had a few cracks in his claws. Maybe he would let him give him a manicure soon? It would look nice. Maybe he could paint them too? Red looked good on him, but maybe he could paint them rainbow? It would be pretty. Maybe some glitter? It would be pretty.

_“Oh, I get it…”_ They whispered. _“I’m not real? I can’t touch you? You’re not worried because you don’t think I’m real? I’m not real?”_

They could have a nice night of pampering. It would be fun. He could get some bath bombs, take out his little foot spa thing, make some cookies, and all that fancy stuff. Maybe they could go ahead and watch a movie? Maybe Keith would get a kick out of watching Easy A?

Suddenly the sleep paralysis demon leaned in close and growled. _“Guess what buttercup. I. Am. Real. If you can imagine it, it can exist. And I am fucking tired of you ignoring me.”_ They then did something that Lance never thought they could do. They grabbed him and pulled him out of Keith’s arms. _“I. Am. Real.”_

Before Lance could yell out in shock Keith had woken up and pushed the other demon away. “Get the fuck away from him.” He growled. The other demon hissed at him and tried to push his way past Keith to get to Lance. Keith growled louder and jumped out of the nest to rip into the demon.

“Shit! It’s real?!” Asked Lance in shock. “This is happening? This isn’t some dream?”

“Fuck no!” Snapped Keith as he tried not to get clawed too badly by the lanky demon. He bit into its arm and violently yanked it off. The demon screeched and quickly ran out of the room, almost knocking the door off its hinges.

Both were frozen into silence. “... What the fuck?” Whispered Lance. “I thought that… That should have happened. Why was it? I don’t get it?!”

Keith shrugged and spat out the arm in his mouth and looked down at it. “... Okay. Well, you know what? I should probably go and like, kill this fucking thing? Then we talk about what just happened.”

“Deal, but I’m coming with you.” He climbed out of the nest and walked with Keith. 

Shiro was also out in the hallway and he looked very confused. “What’s all the screaming about and… Whose arm is that?”

Keith looked down at the arm he was still carrying and shrugged. “Some demon managed to get in here and tried to attack Lance. I ripped its arm off but it’s still around the house somewhere… Are Pidge and Hunk-?”

“The doors are enchanted. No way a demon is getting in there unless they are invited.” Informed Shiro.

“Good. What about Adam?” Asked Keith.

Shiro looked over at Lance. “Best to put them together tonight.” The group went back to Shiro’s room where Adam was waiting. 

He seemed a little confused. “Is everything okay?”

“There’s some demon in here.” Said Shiro calmly. “Keith and I are taking care of it. Look after Lance.”

“Will do.” Adam moved over in his nest made from pillows and blankets. Lance reluctantly went over and sat by Adam. The two demons then quickly left them. Adam sighed a little and looked down at Lance’s arm. “Are you okay?”

Lance looked down at his arm, noticing the bruise that was starting for form. “Oh, I’m fine… I just… I thought it was a sleep paralysis demon and not… It’s real… Shit…”

Adam frowned a little and patted his back. “It’s okay Lance. It probably was just in your head to start…”

“What?”

“Well the most common power of gods is to create life and you are pretty much a god so… It’s possible?”

Lance groaned in annoyance and ran his fingers through his hair. “So you’re saying that I brought my sleep paralysis demon to life? Fucking wonderful…”

Adam shrugged. “Hey, you’re the young god here. I have no idea what all this is about… What kind of demon did you accidentally make?”

“... Before, when I was just starting out stuff I kind of got knocked into the astral plane.” Said Lance. “I got caught by some demons that seemed hellbent on physically destroying me. I don’t know… I think Ulaz said that the things in the astral plane are like the souls of the dead? I don’t know… Could I really do this? Really bring a demon out of my mind like that?”

Adam put his arm around Lance’s shoulders. “It’s okay. You didn’t mean to do that… Did you just do it through your dreams?”

“Yeah… I have no idea how I did it though. It’s stupid. I hate it.”

The older male gently squeezed his shoulder. “It’s okay. If you like I can try and make something to stop you from dreaming? It’ll end the whole sleep paralysis demon thing.”

“That would be nice.”

“Good. Now lie down and get some sleep. Okay?”

“I can’t sleep.” Muttered Lance. “If I sleep I might dream up a worse demon… I kind of wish I didn’t have to deal with this… Is it shitty that I sometimes wish that my uncle had won?”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “You know… I don’t really know what happened. Shiro has mentioned a few things, but never much detail. Do you want to talk about it?”

Deciding it didn’t really matter, Lance spilled everything to Adam. He talked all about how his whole life had pretty much been decided by Marcello so that his crazy uncle could go ahead and take over his body to become a god. Then how his friends were able to save him and destroy the Diabazzel coven.

Adam was captivated and seemed very surprised to hear everything. When he was done with his story Adam was almost rendered speechless. “Your uncle really fucked you up, huh?”

“Yep.”

“... So, he’s really crazy huh?”

“The most insane.”

Lance sighed and lied down in the nest. “I just… I have no idea some days… I wish I didn’t have some weird powers that I can’t control… Ever heard of this thing called a god ego? Shit means I sometimes get all super narcissistic and act like I am all high and mighty. It’s fucking weird… I don’t like it… It kind of feels like I’m starting to lose myself… Like, what if something big happens and I’m just gone?”

“I doubt that will happen.” Said Adam calmly.

“How do you know?”

“Because Keith wouldn’t let you do that. But if you ever went over the edge he would probably kill you to preserve your memory.” Mused Adam

“Can you even do that?” Asked Lance. “Kill a god?”

“Well if you had a god slaying weapon you could.” Said Adam.

“A what?”

The older man shrugged. “A god slaying weapon is an object made from powerful objects from the heavens, hell, and earth. They are very powerful and will only let someone worthy wield them. There are some stupid requirements, but I honestly never looked much into it. Not my department.”

“Fair enough… So should I look for a god slaying weapon in case Keith needs to murder me?”

“Doubtful. It would be easier to make your own.”

“... Too much hassle.”

***

It wasn’t difficult for the demon duo to find and completely rip that skinny demon to shreds. Keith was glad he could finally have something tangible to destroy. He was tired of this thing hurting his boyfriend in his dreams where he couldn’t reach them. This was a lot more fun. Keith easily ripped its limbs off while Shiro ground its face and chest to dust with his paws.

“... So, this demon…” Said Shiro. “Where did it come from?”

“... Lance dreamed it into existence.” Said Keith. “What else can I say really? Lance is… he’s getting stronger but he doesn’t know how to control his powers. Then again, I don’t think many things can control their dreams.”

“Yeah…” Shiro cleaned his paws on the carpet. “But this is kind of…”

“Disturbing? Yeah, I know.” Muttered Keith. “I guess it was kind of easy to brush it off before since Lance wasn’t really showing many physical traits of being a god but this… This isn’t normal. And that’s something coming from a thing like me.”

“I know… We need to find out more about gods.” Said Shiro. “A new god hasn’t come into existence for centuries… Were you even around when a new hell god came into existence?”

Keith shrugged. “Not sure. If it involved explosions, lots of death, and blood raining down from the sky, then not sure. Isn’t that like a normal Tuesday?”

“... Fair enough.” He sighed and shook his head. “Anyway, let’s go back and let them know we took care of the demon thing… Then we can try to figure out how to make sure he doesn’t have dreams… Then try to make sure he doesn’t fall into a coma.”

“... Oh crap.” Keith didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Lance got knocked into a coma. Humans had some really weird fucked up dreams. He didn’t want to have to face whatever weird shit Lance comes up with when he dreams. He once told him that he had a dream where he was getting chased by a banana throwing pizza slices at him like ninja stars. Keith did not know what a banana was and at this point he was too worried that he would appear stupid in front of everyone if he did.


	37. Time warp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a jump to the left...
> 
> So Marcello has been popping up every now and then doing random shit. Time to see what he's up to, don't you think? Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Jumping around the multiple different timelines was really tiring for Marcello, but he didn’t mind. Between gathering things and trying to hone his necromancy skills, he was beat. But a time traveling necromancer's work was never done. 

So far he had gone and gathered a bunch of ransom metals and stones from Hell, the Heavenly realms, and earth. It was seriously annoying, but it had to be done. He had used his necromancy to predict a calamity that would befall all realms. An Armageddon or the second coming as some religions put it.

That always made Marcello laugh. Humans were disgusting. They were full of nothing more than maliciously violent hairless apes. Their pension for the disgusting, grotesque, and obscene always delighted him. He didn’t believe he was above these humans for his own actions, no, as far as he was concerned he was probably one of the worst pieces of human garbage out there, though he did consider himself a little better than the small handful of people he would consider literal pieces of shit.

Marcello sighed loudly as he collapsed onto his bed, jar of tree sap in hand. A special tree sap that looked like blood. It was bright red and almost had a congealed quality to it that he found very pretty. 

However he felt like crap. He had to heat the shit out of a lot of demons to get this sap. The sap came from a very old, very alive, very angry living tree from the organ forest. Demons were always weird, but even Marcello had to pause when he heard of a forest spawned from the split belly of a giant demon. It just spilled out and turned into trees.

He wanted to sleep and get to everything tomorrow, but the sooner he got this done the sooner he could get back to what he needed to get back to; investigating his family tree to find a suitable host body. That was his primary objective.

He peeled himself off his mattress and opened his bedroom door. His house, so incredibly smart and intune with his own desires, opened up right to his alchemy room. A small pot of molten metals was already bubbling away over the fireplace. It had been bubbling for months by now. Every time he came back from one of his trips he threw the next thing into the pot and went to grab the next thing.

So far he had combined; fairy gold, angel armor, holy weapons, demonic enchanted weapons, a prosthetic finger, and magic stones infused with elements. It all blended together to make a strange multicoloured soup. Kind of like oil slick. It was pretty. He dumped the tree sap in and jumped back.

The pot bubbled and hissed. It boiled and puffed out a small green cloud. It was gross and smelled like petrol. He gagged a little and shook his head. It was annoying, but Marcello didn’t mind. It was going to be worth it in the end if he could stop the end of the world.

Now, considering Marcello’s own plans for when he finally became a god, he didn’t want some other asshole to come in and steal his thunder. He knew it wasn’t him that was causing the end of the world, so he’s going to beat the shit out of whatever baby god trying to do be all powerful and stuff. That was his damn job! 

Yes, everything he was doing was out of spite. He was a spiteful and hateful human. Though these days it was harder and harder to tell if he really was human anymore. Did normal humans aspire to become god? 

He shook his head and looked at his list, quickly crossing the demon tree sap off his list. Next up he had a pommel. He thought for a moment as he wondered where he could get a good pommel from… The Iscariots. It had been a while since he had molested their archives and he was pretty sure that the Vatican would smack him with some holy hand grenade if he tried to waltz in there again. That was a weird time.

Marcello decided on a time and quickly created a quick rift in time and space, and slipped through it. He happily dusted himself off and looked around at his new surroundings. He was back in the Iscariot armory. Fun. They were still very old school with their lighting choices. Using torches made it impossible for him to tell if he was in the past of the future.

He sighed and walked off to look for a good pommel. He looked around at various swords but found nothing he really liked. Though he did find a sword he swore was some kind of elf sword. He picked it up and gave it a few swings.

“Swishity swooshy. I’m coming for that booty.” He said with a slight grin. Yeah, it was wonderfully light. Hardly felt like anything. An elven sword for sure.

He put it back and happily continued to look around. Eventually he found a trunk of swords and he decided that he would take a pommel from one of them. They seemed like a bunch of old swords anyway. It would take a while before anyone noticed anything odd or wrong with the swords at all… Then again it wasn’t like they could grab him. He was time traveling for crying out loud.

“Ahem?” Grunted a rather angry voice. Marcello slowly turned his head and awkwardly grinned at them. “Are you having fun there?”

“Iverson!” Said Marcello in an overly dramatic and happy way. “I hardly ever see you around but when I do it’s always such a treat! Did you take my advice and started jerking off so you stop acting so pissed off all the time?”

“Marcello…”

“A bit of lube, some cooking oil, animal fat if you need it.” Said Marcello with a grin. “Lie back on your bed and crank one out with your right and or left hand. Depends on what you find more fun.”

“Marcello.”

“But you know, you’re the big boss. You can go ahead fuck whoever you like. A prostitute? A sexy woman? Sexy man? Little boy or little girl perhaps?”

“MARCELLO!”

“Oh come on. You guys are affiliated with a few particular religious groups that aren’t known for their strong stance against diddling prepubescent children. Hell, they almost seem to be encouraging it. Pretty messed up huh?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Snapped Iverson. “You’re always like this. Whenever you show up nothing good happens!” While Iverson ranted, Marcello happily looked through the trunk to find what he was looking for. “And of course it’s you up to no good.” Growled Iverson. “What in the name of Adam and Eve are you doing here?”

Marcello looked up at him and grinned. “Oh don’t mind me. Just a time traveler doing a bit of this and a bit of that. Now, on your way good sir.”

“I can’t allow you to do that. You keep stealing our stuff!”

“But I gotta do it!” Whined Marcello. “Come on. It’s for a good reason.”

“And that reason would be?”

“It’s a big secret!” Whined Marcello. He took a sword out of the trunk and removed the pommel from it. “Just gonna take this.” 

“You can’t just randomly take-”

“Yes I can. I know the future.” Said Marcello defensively. He chuckled a little and rolled the metal ball around in his hand. “... And if I am not mistaken, with the trajectory and with the way things are going… You’re going to need my help. Well, not you but you know what I’m saying.”

“No, actually I don’t.”

Marcello sighed dramatically. “Look, time is like a river. It flows and breaks off into different creeks and streams. At the point where I am in the flow of time I am trying to stop a certain deadly end of the world event.”

“And getting a pommel is the thing you need to stop it?”

“Yes.” Marcello pocketed it and grinned. “And now that I have this I’m gonna go. Bye.” Before Iverson could say anything else, Marcello tumbled backwards and fell back into his alchemy room. He tossed the pommel into the pot and watched a cloud of yellow smoke puffed out of it.

He sighed and looked at the list again. Next up was an eight year old pickled rat. Fun. He already had a pickled rat and looked at it to see if it was ready to be used. He looked at it and it groaned in frustration. He still had a few years to go, so it was time to jump to the future again to get the rat. He put it back on the shelf and time warped to the future to grab the rat.

He dusted it off and heard something crash outside the door. Marcello peeked outside and looked around to see if there was anything there. He heard some commotion, and decided that he might as well see what was going on.

He waltzed to the balcony and looked over the edge. He saw some of the inhabitants of the house walking around on the ground floor. It was kind of amusing to him. He saw a manticore stumble out of what he presumed was the kitchen with his mane on fire. A man wearing glasses ran out after him trying to put out his mane with a fire blanket. There were a few other people were running around them trying to make sure they were okay.

‘Holy shit!” Yelled a short person wearing glasses. “You really can’t cook anything!”

“How did you do that?” Asked a larger man wearing a bandanna. “We were making a salad! I freaking premade salad! Nothing was turned on! No fire was needed! Why?!”

The Manticore fell over and let the taller man with glasses put him out. “I have no idea…” Muttered the Manticore. “It was just… Fire.”

The man putting the fire out just sighed and shook his head. “Manticores just be like that.”

“It’s the best thing ever. Argh! I should have recorded that! Lance and Keith would have loved to see that!”

The larger man shook his head. “They would probably love it, but damn…”

“Does anyone else still smell burning?”

“... THE SALAD’S STILL ON FIRE!!!” The larger man quickly ran back into the kitchen.

Marcello chuckled and decided it would be best to head back to his time. He took a step back and was back in their time. They dumped the pot and happily stirred it with an enchanted stirring stick. He hummed happily to himself.

The people that were in the house in the future were weird and loud. He liked them. Hoped they would cause just as much trouble and bullshit for the rest of the realms as he did. Trouble was his middle name and damn did he love it.

He looked through his list and sighed in annoyance. He still had a lot of things he needed to do to get this all ready. “Why must things be so difficult?” He muttered. “This is so bullshit.”

He was getting tired and frustrated, which was never good. It had been a while since he’d gotten laid. Fuck it, he was going to go to the fairy kingdom and go get laid by a bunch of nymphomanica faries. Crazy bastards had more energy than a damn duracell bunny or an energizer battery. 

Yeah, Marcello’s not going to be able to feel his lower half for the next week or two. Heck, he deserved it too. He’d been working himself to the bone to stop the end of the world. And once he had actually stopped armageddon he was gonna go on a month long cocaine and hooker binge. All good hero’s deserved to go on a megga cocaine and hooker binge after saving the world.


	38. Sleep deprived and cranky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY WRITER'S BLOCK IS GONE! HAZZAH! I finally know how to get from point A-B in a coherent manner! Rejoice! I am excited! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“Here. Drink this.” Adam passed Lance a bottle of something blue and glittery. “Should stop you from dreaming. If this fails then you might consider eating some dream eating demon to eat them.” 

“Thanks. I think…” Muttered Lance. Ever since he had accidentally brought his sleep paralysis demon to life he had been trying to avoid sleeping. He was pretty sure he was going to have a heart attack if he had any more coffee or energy drinks. 

Then again at this point temporarily dying didn’t seem like such a bad thing. He’d already done it before. What was another near death experience? The world seemed to be filled with nothing but rot these days. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t really slept for about three days straight? Even with Keith holding him tightly in his arms while he slept there was no comfort for Lance. He was scared he would dream up something that would really hurt Keith.

Lance quickly down the whole bottle. It kind of tasted like berries. It was weird. “That was… Interesting. So is this just a one and done kind of deal or what?”

“Once a week should do it.” Said Adam. “Hopefully you’ll be able to have a normal sleeping schedule again.”

“Thanks… I’m going to try and get some sleep now…”

“Okay. You do that.”

Lance smiled weakly and headed back to his room. He crawled into his nest and buried himself under the bedsheets. He hated this. He wanted to sleep when Keith was with him to feel safe, but he was so tired. He hid under the bedsheets and groaned in annoyance. He’d try and get some sleep.

He swore he only closed his eyes for a second, but he suddenly felt something heavy pressing down on his back. Lance yelped and flailed as he quickly sat up. He was met with Keith, flinching away.

“Sorry…” He said. “I was just… I wasn’t trying to wake you.”

Lance calmed himself down a little and nodded. “Right… Sorry. I was just…” He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I was worried I accidentally dreamed up someone or something… Adam gave me some potion thing so I can’t dream anymore.”

Keith nodded, still looking a little embarrassed. “Well, Adam said you walked off a few hours ago so I figured you might have tried to go to sleep… Are you okay now? Did you dream?”

“Well considering I’m not trying to fight off some dream demon with a chair, I think it worked.”

“That’s good.” Keith moved a little closer to him and lightly nuzzled his cheek. It made Lance smile a little when Keith was like that. He was adorable. He liked the attention that Keith gave him. It was good. He loved it when Keith gave him attention, affection, and love. He wanted more of it. He needed more of it.

Lance clenched his jaw slightly as he tried to pull himself away from those thoughts. He didn’t want to think those thoughts. It made him feel uncomfortable. He wanted to be worshiped by people. Completely adored and worshiped by someone else. He wanted so much love and attention… and he knew it was wrong. He needed to keep his God Ego in check.

“Is something wrong?” Asked Keith quietly. “Are you still tired?”

“Yeah… I’ve been trying not to sleep for a few days so I’m really exhausted…”

“Do you want me to stay here with you?” Asked Keith softly.

Lance nodded. “Yeah… Can you get me some warm milk from the kitchen? If you don’t know how to make it you can ask Hunk, if he’s still here… Maybe Adam?”

Keith nodded and got out of the nest. “Sure. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Not planning to.” Said Lance as he watched Keith quickly walked out the door. When he was gone Lance flopped back into the nest and pulled his sheets up over his head. He just needed a good, long sleep. If he could just sleep then he could clear his head.

His head was too foggy because he was too tired. Once his head was clear he could keep his stupid God Ego in check and he could get abck to figuring out how his magic worked. Also he still needed to figure out how to break Adam’s covenant with God so he wouldn’t keep getting reincarnated. That was a huge fucking headache to deal with. He was kind of thinking he might just need to end up finding God and killing him. However that seemed like a really big hassle and Lance wasn’t thinking clearly.

Plus wouldn’t he need to be a god to defeat a god? Or at least some kind of demigod? Two things he really, really didn’t want. Hell, he was still reluctant about being a warlock. It was stupid and he hated it. His magic was still all over the place.

Maybe he just wasn’t taking this seriously enough? Maybe things would be better if he just stopped fighting it and accepted what he was? Then again the last time he fully accepted something it ended with his uncle trying to take over his body. The bastard.

He really needed to talk to a proper witch. Either Kolivan or Lotor. Kolivan and his coven were very set answers for everything as was written in some super old text. Set in stone. Lotor was a little more flexible and more modern. It annoyed him a lot but he really didn’t know what to do. 

Things would be so much easier if there was just nothing to deal with. If he could just wipe the slate clean it would be easier. No heaven. No hell. No earth. No nothing. Just quiet. Just peace. It was a nice thought. Something he wanted. Just quiet. Peace… He could do it too if he really wanted to. He was a god.

***

Keith had no fucking idea how to make warm milk. He got as far as putting the milk into a mug, like he had seen everyone else do before, but that was it. He had no idea what the next step was. He’d seen Pidge put things in the little beeping light box before. He believed that they called it a microwave. Stupid name. He liked beeping light box better.

He put it in the microwave and stared at it. He didn’t know why it wasn’t working. Maybe he didn’t close the door right? Keith opened and closed the door a few times but it didn’t seem to be working.

“... Fuck you too.” He growled at the microwave and went to punch it when Hunk walked in.

“Are you going to punch the microwave?” He asked.

“Maybe.”

“Why?”

“It’s not heating up the milk.”

Hunk sighed and took the mug out of the microwave and put it in a pan. “Let me do this… Is this for Lance?”

“Yeah. He’s finally gotten to sleep.”

“That’s good. I was really worried about him…” Hunk sighed and watched the milk carefully. “I wish there was more that I could do for him. But it’s hard when you don’t have magic…”

Keith nodded in agreement. “Yeah. It can be pretty tough… But Lance is doing pretty well, all things considered. He just needs to sleep some more. He’s been awake for like, three days.”

“Yeah…” Hunk frowned. “Still, I just feel so useless… Even around Shay’s family I feel so useless… Trolls are… Her parents are nice, but her brother, Rax, really hates me. I feel so useless…”

“Hunk, you’re not useless. You’re his best friend. Lance appreciates having you around.”

Hunk shrugged. “I guess, but still… If I’m honest, ever since this whole warlock thing, Lance has really changed. Like, he’s more reserved and kind of more manic… He’s mellowed out a little since going to see that therapist but… He just isn’t the same. I know Lance is never going to be the same, mainly because of all the horrible things he’s been through, so… I don’t know.” Hunk seemed very conflicted. He poured the milk back into the mug and held it out to Keith. “Here. Should be warm enough for him… Tell him I hope he feels better soon.”

“I will. Thanks.” Keith took the mug and headed back up to his room. He hadn’t really noticed it, but Hunk was right. Lance was really spiralling and there wasn’t really much he could do. Lance was trying very hard not to and to keep himself in check and undercontrol, but he wasn’t. He was isolating himself from Pidge and Hunk.

Maybe he should suggest Lance spend some more time with his normal, human friends? It would probably do Lance a world of good. Get him away from magic for a while. That was fine. Right?

He walked into the door and looked over at the lump in the nest that was Lance. Keith put his milk on the bedside table and lightly nudged him. “Lance? Are you awake? I got you your milk.”

Lance groaned a little and slowly sat up. In all honesty, Lance looked like shit. He needed more sleep. Way more sleep. Lance took the milk from him and drank it. “Thanks…”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“A little…” He passed the cup back to Keith and laid back down.

Keith put the mug away and climbed into the nest. He lightly nuzzled the back of Lance’s head. He needed to shower. His hair was starting to get a little oily and greasy. He could imagine Lance wanting to have some big spa day when he had enough rest.

“Lance?”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe in a few days when you feel better you might want to… Um… Do a spa thing with Hunk and Pidge?”

“... Are you saying I’m starting to look gross?”

“I’m saying you deserve to relax and feel good.” Said Keith. “Also, you need to spend more time interacting with humans… You guys need to interact with humans, right?”

Lance chuckled a little and relaxed slightly. “Yeah… We need to do that. Good for our mental health.”

“Exactly.” He nuzzled the back of Lance’s head some more and moved down to his neck. Eventually he was lightly nuzzling and kissing along Lance’s shoulder. 

Sighing, Lance rolled his shoulder. “Not now. I’m not in the mood.”

“The mood for what?”

“Sex. I’m too tired.”

Keith huffed. “I wasn’t trying to get you in the mood for sex. I was trying to comfort you. You like kissing and that kind of physical affection, don’t you? I’m trying to accommodate you...”

“I know… Sorry…” Lance held Keith’s arm, bringing his hand up to his mouth. He lightly pressed his lips against the demon’s knuckles. “Hey Keith? Do you sometimes just want everything to vanish? Like you just want everything else in the world to vanish? Just so you don’t have to worry about anyone or anything anymore?”

“... Sometimes. But where would the fun in that be?” Asked Keith as he gently pulled Lance closer. “After what happened with your uncle and everything I… For a long time I just wanted to keep you locked up in this room. Like a caged animal. All because I wanted you to be safe.” he chuckled a little. “Like a psychopath I thought that the best way to keep you safe was to keep you in our nest…”

“What stopped you?”

“I talked to Shiro and he reminded me that doing that was really messed up.” Said Keith.

“Of course.”

“He also threatened to take my legs if I tried to limit your autonomy for no good reason.”

“... I’d say I’m surprised but I’m not.”

Keith chuckled a little and kissed the back of his head. “Just get some sleep. I’ll be here for you. I’ll always protect you.”

“Hmm, I know you will.” Lance yawned and seemed to finally settle into some form of sleep. “Night…”

Keith didn’t bother to correct his lover. It was closer to midday. He really needed sleep. He hummed softly in an effort to try and help lul Lance to sleep. It may or may not have worked, but Keith liked to think that it was working. The placebo effect worked wonders sometimes.

He wondered if he should maybe ask Hunk and Pidge to try and do some more stuff with Lance? That would be a good idea. Get them to do normal human stuff that humans think is fun to do with other humans. Yeah, that might work.


	39. The start of a spiral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is not doing so well... And neither is Keith... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance ended up going with Hunk to some farmers market on the weekend. He wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, but Hunk wanted to go and Lance hadn’t been in a while. Hunk was happy to have Lance come along. He really wanted to have fun with Hunk, he really did, but now… Now it was all just… Lance couldn’t really describe it. If he couldn’t describe his emotions he could describe it as a colour. It was sepia tone. Lots of browns. Not quite black and white yet.

Hunk was trying to get Lance interested in helping him pick out some apples, but it really wasn’t working. Lance just wasn’t interested in them. Who cared about apples? They were just fruits. There wasn’t anything special about them.

“What do you think?” Asked Hunk.

“Whatever you think is good.” Said Lance. “I’m not the food guy here.”

“... Well yeah, but I like your input.”

“Sorry…” Lance sighed and looked at the apples. “Those ones look nice.”

“Okay. We’ll get them.”

Hunk paid for their groceries and continued to walk around the market. They eventually got to the food trucks and got something to eat. Hunk got some wrap thing and Lance just got some sandwich thing. It was okay. It should have been really good. Most food truck stuff was, but it wasn’t. It was depressing. He needed to talk to his therapist about this soon.

“Hey, are you okay?” Asked Hunk softly. “You um… You’ve been a little distant lately… Do you want to talk?”

Lance shrugged. He felt like all he did was talk these days. He could have snapped at him, but this was Hunk. He was asking from a genuine place of concern. “Hunk, I’m practically a god now. A god that doesn’t know how to use his powers but I… Hunk, with these hands I could… I could end everything.”

“But you’re not going to, right?”

“Well I know I shouldn’t but…”

“Oh no…”

“Come on Hunk, haven’t you ever wanted to change the world?” He asked. “You can’t say that the world is perfect and there isn’t anything you wouldn’t change; war, diseases, mass extinctions… I just… And those are just the large scale things. Wouldn’t it just be easier to start over?”

“... Lance, come on buddy.” Said Hunk quietly. “You’re kind of scaring me there.”

Lance shrugged. “Sorry. I know that it’s kind of… Sorry.”

Hunk just shook his head. “It’s okay. I know you have a lot of stuff going on… So you want to go and like… do something else? There is some cute looking craft stuff? You still like craft stuff right? And Keith is still making bracelets and rings, right?”

“Yeah…” Lance finished eating and the two of them continued to walk through the farmers market. He sighed internally. Hunk was having a good time. He should be having a good time. This was just apathy. It was apathy. Lance shivered. He needed to keep himself in check.

But there was so much bullshit in the world that he hated. Hated with a strong passion. All these different wars and diseases. These issues over race and gender. Everything was just irritating him so much. If everything could just stop for one damn moment than he would just feel so much better.

Maybe he should just open the doors, just a little bit? That sounds so extreme but at the same time it was… It sounded nice? In a strange way. He wanted things to change. He wanted things to change. He wanted things to be different. Could he do that in a positive way if he did open the gate?

Yeah, he probably could. He could control how far it opened. He could bring something through. When he did that he could unite everyone somehow into trying to fight something more dangerous than themselves… With his hands… With his hands...

With Lance’s hands he held the lives of millions. Trillions. Billions. He could end everything and even destroy it all. Maybe everyone would be happy? Everyone would feel calm and at peace. They would no longer need to suffer. It would be all over. All over and it would be done. No one would care about what happened. Everyone would be at peace.

These thoughts made him feel uneasy. He didn’t want this, but he wanted this. He did, but he didn’t. He didn’t know what was going on in his mind anymore. He shuddered and tried to focus on there here and now. The here and now was what was important. He could push those crazy negative thoughts away if he really wanted to. He needed to. He really did. Lance didn’t want to hurt people. But ending everything would just be so easy… Lance didn’t want to admit it, but he was starting to spiral like crazy.

***

While Lance was out with Hunk, Keith was hanging out with Shiro in his nest. Keith was happily grooming Shiro’s mane and the manticore was quietly rumbling contently. Shiro didn’t purr like a cat. He just rumbled. Though, this time was interrupted when Adam walked in. Keith glared at him and was going to hiss at him, but Shiro shut him up when he hit him with his tail.

Things between Adam and Keith were still tense. Keith still hadn’t fully forgiven Adam for dying on Shiro like that. They still avoided each other and only talked to each other when they had to. Which wasn’t that often.

Adam sat at the edge of the nest and started to read a book. Shiro craned his neck a little to try and see what he was reading. “Adam?”

“Yes Shiro?”

“What are you reading?”

“A book.”

“... What kind of book?”

“A book with words.”

Keith rolled his eyes and continued to groom Shiro’s mane. He knew he shouldn’t be so jealous, but he’d known Shiro for so much longer than Adam did. Shiro was his family. His littermate. He knew Adam was Shiro’s mate and he should be so upset by this, but he was. 

“What book though?” Asked Shiro. He looked over at Keith. “Are you done yet?”

Keith was taken aback. They were nowhere near finished. Shiro loved it when he groomed him. He would often ask him to groom his mane for longer then when it was just the two of them, but now? Now this… This was… Keith didn’t like this but sat back.

“Yeah… I’m done.” He muttered.

“Thanks.” Said Shiro. He walked over to Adam and lightly nudged him. “Tell me what you’re reading.”

“The divine comedy.” Said Adam.

Shiro rested his chin on his shoulder. “Read it to me? Please?”

The man chuckled and happily started to read the book from the beginning. Keith just kind of sat there and stared in disbelief. Shiro didn’t want him around anymore now that he had Adam. It was upsetting, but he knew he was kind of doing the same thing with Lance.

Keith quickly slipped out of the room and went down to the lounge room. Pidge was lazing around on the couch playing a game. They nodded up at him and Keith nodded back. He sat back down on the floor.

“Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever been pushed out of someone’s life?”

“This about Shiro and Adam?”

“Yeah.”

Pidge sighed and quickly button mashed combos to beat the crap out of an enemy on screen. “Come on Keith, Shiro wants to be a couple with Adam. He’s waited centuries for this. That’s all. You want to do that kind of stuff with Lance, right?”

“Well yeah…” Muttered Keith. “But Shiro is my brother…”

Pidge frowned a little as they got to a save spot. “Yeah, I know that. My brother Matt, it was a bit hard for me when he first moved out… But things change. We still get along, but we’re becoming our own people. Maybe it’s time to let him go a little more?”

“... I feel like I’m letting everyone go these days…” He muttered. “Lance, Shiro… I just… I don’t even know… I’m sorry.”

“Dude, you have nothing to be sorry for. We all got shit to deal with.”

“Yeah, we do…” If Keith was honest he was still conflicted about what he was. He still felt like he wasn’t really anything. No matter what he told Lance about being fine. He didn’t want to get Lance’s help considering the last time he did Lance almost became part of a demonic horde. Plus Lance was stressed out enough. He didn’t need to worry about his identity crisis.

“You need to eat any people?” Asked Pidge. “I have the address of two people you can eat.”

“Eh, not that hungry today.” Muttered Keith. “I just… I want things to be okay… I want Lance to feel okay. I want to feel okay.”

“Everyone wants to feel okay. But you know, what are you going to do?”

“I guess…” Keith sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “You know, I kind of wish I still had my wings. Would have been cool to learn how to fly again.”

“Flying would have been awesome.” Said Pidge. “Isn’t Lance meant to be helping Shiro with that?”

“I think he gave up after a while. He has issues with being a god and stuff.”

“Yeah… You know, being a god is surprisingly mundane. Would have thought more crazy shit would have happened.”

“To be fair gods are extremely lazy and narcissistic.” 

“... Yeah, I can see that.” Said Pidge as she looked through their character’s inventory. “Have you met a god before?”

“Eh, not really. Seen a few though.” Muttered Keith. Though, if Keith was honest he didn’t really know what the difference was between a giant demon and a god. Most demon gods were massive. It was scary as fuck. He sighed and watched Pidge playing their game. “So, what are you playing?”

“Dark Souls.” She said. “It’s really freaking hard.”

Keith nodded and watched them play their game and watched their character getting killed over and over again. As he watched he felt uneasy and felt an ache between his shoulders. He didn’t know if this was because of Lance, Shiro and Adam, or because of his own internal conflict. He knew that his first two problems could be solved by talking to those people, but his internal conflict… That was hard.

He wanted to know more about what he was and if there were other angels that became demonic from eating the flesh of humans too. There were technically blood wraiths. Those things were… They were different. Maybe he should just go to Hell again and do some poking around?

“We’re back!” Called Hunk.

Keith perked up when he saw Lance and smiled at him. Lance smiled slightly at him and waved slightly. “Come with me Keith?” 

“Sure.” Keith happily got up and followed Lance back to their room. When they got there he watched as Lance took off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and climbed into the nest. He beckoned Keith to come in and join him. Keith was happy to oblige and sat by his lover. “How was the market?”

“It was… Interesting.” Said Lance calmly. He gestured for Keith so come closer. Keith ended up moving so he was practically sitting in Lance’s lap. Lance smiled and gently ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. “I was just thinking about stuff…”

“Yeah? What kind of stuff.”

“Us… The world… How it’s just nice when it’s just us… It’s just nice. You know?”

Keith hummed a little as he leaned into Lance’s hand some more. “Yeah, I get that… I miss you when you’re not around.”

“Yeah…” Suddenly Lance frowned and a look of concern and doubt crossed his face. “Keith? Can I confess something?”

“Of course you can.”

“... I’m having trouble controlling my thoughts.” Said Lance quietly. “I keep spiraling into narcissistic thoughts about how I should just end the world and how everything would be so much better if it just started over from nothing.”

Keith frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m getting scared of my own mind.” Said Lance quietly. “I don’t want to end the world. Really.” He whispered. “The world is fucked up, but I don’t think I can… I shouldn’t be allowed to decide that kind of stuff… You’re a Sin-eater… Can you just… Eat my sin or something? My pride? Narcissism if some version of pride, right?”

“Well, I could if you want…” Said Keith quietly.

“Please… I need you to eat my sin. It might slow down whatever is happening to me…”

Keith was a little hesitant, but willingly complied. He gently tilted Lance’s head back and started to feed on Lance’s sin. It was pride. 100% Pride. There was so much pride within him. Keith knew gods had big egos, but he would do everything he could for Lance. It would be easier for Keith to rid Lance of his sin by eating his body, but Keith didn’t want to do that. Keith didn’t want to hurt Lance again.

He felt Lance grabbing at his back, digging his nails in. He needed to breathe, but Keith was nowhere near done feeding. There was still so much in him. A god’s ego was the worst. He pulled back for a few seconds so Lance could breathe before forcing his mouth back onto Lance’s and continued to feed.

Removing Lance’s pride was going to take a long, long time. Hours. Possibly days… He was going to have to eat Lance’s sin for a long, long time.


	40. Bullet's aren't good keys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this one took a little while to figure out how to make it gel the way I wanted it to. I hope you all like it. Kudos and comment when you can. Also, Lotor is a piece of shit. Enjoy :D

Lance was feeling okay today, so he decided to dive right back into trying to find a way to give Shiro back his wings and how to sever Adam’s connection with his old god to free him from the cycle of reincarnation. It wasn’t an easy task, but he was trying. Both problems were hard to tackle, but he would do it.

For Shiro he felt that it might be best to give him an amulet or charm to make him sprout elemental wings. Something made from water, fire, or ice… Sheets of glass? Anything. He doubted Shiro would really care as long as he could fly again. He could talk to Kolivan about making him something to help with that. Adam on the other hand… His issues were a little more extreme.

Lance still had no idea how to break a covenant with a god. It seemed like death was the only way to do it, but because of what Adam signed up for he was always going to be reborn. Adam couldn’t get out of it by dying… But in theory, if they killed Adam and brought him back to life in the body he was in previously before he got stabbed, shot or whatever, then he could theoretically break the cycle. Lance needed to figure out where he could get a defibrillator.

Speaking of Adam and Shiro, Adam was currently in his laboratory cooking up some potion stuff, or whatever he was doing. Anything to occupy his time while the Iscarriots were still breathing down his neck. Shiro was going out to maybe do some hunting and wanted to bring Keith along. Keith was a little reluctant to go along, but it had been a long time since he had eaten anyone. He was probably getting pretty hungry.

“I’ll be fine.” Said Lance. “I’m not going to be home alone anyway. Adam is here… And if you take all day Pidge and Hunk will be back from their classes too.”

“... If you’re sure.” Muttered Kieth.

Lance just smiled at him and patted his head. “Don’t worry about me. You just get out there and go eat a rapist or a peadophile.”

And with that his demon lover and his littermate were gone, and Lance was buried in books. It was at this point that Lance remembered how much studying sucked. Which was kind of incredible considering he was to be a teacher before this warlock stuff started.

Suddenly he heard the doorbell ring. Lance had no idea who was visiting him today. He went to the front door and opened it up. Standing there was Lotor. Lance raised an eyebrow. “Um… Need something?”

“I was hoping that I could come inside so we could talk. Is that okay?” He asked.

“... Yeah sure. I need a break…”

He let Lotor in and the two of them ended up sitting in the office. There was a little bit of tension in the air as so far the only people that came here wanted something from Lance. Plus all their previous talks had to do about gods and what not. Which was obviously a bit of a touchy subject for Lance. Since he kind of was a god, but wasn’t really and well… It was all muddy in his mind at this point.

Lance sighed as he relaxed in his chair. “So… What brings you here?”

“I just came by to see you.” Said Lotor. “We might be acquaintances at best, but I am still concerned about you. You did come by and visit once or twice a month, but it has been a while and not even a peep out of you. May I ask why?”

“I’ve been busy.” Muttered Lance. “Been dealing with some personal stuff…”

“God ego?”

“How do you know about that?”

Lotor shrugged. “Many gods and even demigods go through a similar experience. They become more narcissistic and cold towards their fellow man. Even apathetic before it becomes a delusion. Well, I guess most humans would consider it some kind of mental illness… But then again you can’t help but be a little narcissistic when your mind tells you that you deserve to be worshiped, and to be honest, you kind of deserve it.”

Lance laughed a little at that. “Yeah. It kind of sucks though. I’ve been feeling so entitled for Keith’s attention lately… But Keith’s been eating my pride, so it’s not so bad. You know?”

“Actually I wouldn’t. I don’t interact much with sin-eaters.” Said Lotor calmly. “I was never a big fan of demons. The pact that my parents made with Diabazaal kind of spoiled my relationship with demons in general.”

“Fair enough… Um… Still sorry about what happened to them. I kind of indirectly… You know…”

Lotor smiled and waved him off. “It’s okay. My relationship with them was strained at best. I think death was possibly the best option for them at this point… Especially since Zarkon became a conduit for Diabazzal… But enough about that. So your god ego has been kept in check so far?”

Lance nodded. “So far. Sometimes it gets a little… But things are okay. Like I said, Keith is helping me keep it under control… And it’s working… most of the time…”

“Most of the time?” Asked Lotor as he raised an eyebrow.

Lance shrugged. “Yeah… I mean… Sometimes I still… Like, you look at the news and see all kinds of horrible stuff and you just think that maybe, just maybe it’s not worth it anymore? Like, I’m always teetering between “I shouldn’t do anything” and “open the gates and end it all”, you get me?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Life here on this planet is obviously miserable.” He spoke in a matter of fact tone. “War, disease, murder, all the isims and rediculious phobeas used to disguise bigotry. I’m surprised a god hasn’t wiped us all out already. We kind of deserve it.”

Lance nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Humanity is kind of a mess. Some days you just see something and want them gone.”

“Exactly.” Said Lotor. “Every day on the news there is another atrocity being committed either on an international scale or domestic. Are there more terrorist attacks happening, violet sex based crime, domestic violence… It is rather infuriating.”

“Yeah… Some days you just… Humans are so terrible.” Muttered Lance. No matter what their good qualities were, humans were still awful, awful things. Running around, hurting each other, like a bunch of animals… No, worse than animals. Animals had good reason to hurt each other. They were either hunting or defending themselves. Humans were just… They were monsters. Mistakes. 

With things the way they were now humanity was plummeting towards extinction, and dragging the rest of the world along with it. Starting things over and wiping it clean would probably be a blessing.

Lance could wipe it all out and start everything again… Didn’t someone say creation was a basic god power? Lance could open the gates, have everyone in heaven, hell, and earth drive each other to extinction. He could try making humanity over again. He could make man and woman at the same time. Make them equal. They would worship him and give him things to keep him happy.

Lance wouldn’t ask for much. Just simple stuff. Like the old gods would ask for. Just things like grain and the occasional goat… Maybe some nice fabric? But most importantly, Lance would physically be there and wouldn’t leave any room for bullshit interpretation. No one would say that Lance’s will was one thing when it was actually completely opposite… and by his side would be… Keith. 

Even if Lance erased the rest of existence he wouldn’t get rid of Keith. He loved Keith. He really did. Keith was always looking out for him and trying to make him feel better. He’d done so much for him just by sitting next to him and holding his hand. He loved Keith so much. When he made a new world he hoped that Keith would help him and give his input. The world they would make wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be much better than the current one.

Lance frowned slightly. When he made a new world? His god ego was seeping through again. He needed Keith to eat more of his pride. Lance didn’t really like this feeling that was quickly settling in his chest. He wasn’t a… he didn’t want to be a god. Not really… But it would be cool...

“Anyway, I have something else to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?”

“I think I have a solution to your god problem.”

That quickly grabbed Lance’s interest. “Yes?”

“You still have that gun, right?” Asked Lotor as he leaned forward in his chair slightly. “That gun of yours always hits its target, correct? Theoretically you might be able to use it to kill the god part of you if it isn’t too developed.”

Lance was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Lotor made a gun with his hands and pressed his finger tips against his temple. “Bang.”

“You want me to shoot myself?!” Asked Lance in shock. “Dude, I already died once! I’m not going to go ahead and kill myself again just because this might work!”

Lotor sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Look, here is my reasoning; your gun always kills its target. If you shot yourself in the head with the intention to murder the god part of your mind then only the god should die. However, if the god part of you is too advanced then it might possibly kill the last of your humanity and the god could completely take over.”

“... Fun.”

Lotor shrugged. “Well, that’s just how it is… I don’t know what is going to happen, but also, if you did shoot yourself with that gun and you couldn’t kill the god part of yourself, what’s really the worst that could happen? A headache? You can just get someone to remove the bullet later.”

“... Well I guess?” Lotor’s words did have some logic. It wasn’t really the most sound on the surface, but the more he thought of it the more obvious it became. 

His gun could shoot anything he targeted. If he decided just shot himself earlier on after everything he probably could have killed the god inside himself. It would have been good. He could have avoided so much shit. He could have just seen Slav for PTSD issues, and he could have looked after Keith more. He knew that Keith was still struggling with finding out he has angel heritage but it was just so easy to be selfish and ignore it.

Lance frowned and summoned the gun to his hand. Could he even do it? Was Lotor even telling him the truth? Did he have a reason to trick him? He didn’t know… But if Lance was honest, he was kind of just tired at this point. He was tired of never being able to help anyone and having to ask for help all the time. He just felt so inadequate and like a failure as a warlock.

Would it even be that bad if he died anyway? Just let the god take over? No. Lance fought hard for this body and wanted it back so badly… However he didn’t get it back alone. He needed help. He wasn’t able to do anything by his own power… Maybe this could work? Maybe he could ditch the god thing and actually become a halfway decent warlock? Lance raised the gun to his head, pressed the barrel against his temple, and pulled the trigger.

***

Keith froze and his head snapped up as he quickly looked around. His connection, the bond he had formed with Lance as the man who summoned him was gone. It no longer existed. What happened to Lance?

“Are you okay?” Asked Shiro as he looked up from the silly little human things he was looking at. “Did you suddenly smell someone you want to eat?”

Keith frowned. “I… Ever since I came to this place I’ve had a slight connection with Lance since he is my summoner… But I… It’s gone.”

That got Shiro’s full attention. “What do you mean it’s gone? How can it be gone? The only way it could be gone is if Lance was dead…” He suddenly became worried.

“He isn’t dead.” Said Keith quickly. “I know he isn’t dead, but he is…” He became very anxious. “Something is very, very wrong… We need to get back home now. I have to check on him.”

“Agreed.” Said Shiro. The two quickly left the store and headed back to the house as fast as they could. Well, as fast as they could without causing too much suspicion. Which meant they weren’t moving very fast at all. 

It pissed Keith off and gave him anxiety. He shouldn’t have left Lance at home. Just because Adam was left at home with him didn’t mean he was safe. If Adam did something and something horrible had happened to Lance, he wouldn’t be able to forgive him. He would never forgive anyone that went and hurt Lance. The last time someone had hurt Lance with any significance he ended up smashing their skull into the ground until it exploded like a watermelon.

The closer they got to the house the stranger the air became. It felt kind of humid and electrified. It was something else. Something otherworldly. This wasn’t right. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

***

Iverson froze along with the rest of the Iscariots. Every last one of them felt something was wrong. The fragile balance that was once there was gone and the scales had tipped. He quickly stood up from his desk and as he did so Ina and Nadia quickly ran into the room.

“Iverson!” Exclaimed Nadia. “Something’s wrong!”

“That meschugener warlock’s gone and done something bad.” Said Ina. “I can feel it.”

“Yeah, I know.” Muttered Iverson. “I felt it too. James and Kinkade would have felt it too. James more so than all of us. Gather the weapons, assemble the rest of the Iscariots, and get in contact with Kinkade. We’re meeting up in front of the warlock’s estate. We’re going to war… and if we’re unlucky it’s going to be the last war this reality will ever see…”

Nadia nervously glanced at Ina. “Is this really the end?”

Iverson nodded. “Yes. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is an apocalypse level event… This isn’t world ending, this is the end of everything. Now go and get everything ready. If we fail to stop this then everything we have done before has been nothing but delaying the inevitable. Now go.”

The two women nodded and quickly left the room. When they were gone, Iverson let out a long sigh. This was not going to end well for any of them. He probably should have tried to push harder to get to know Lance. He doubted he could have made Lance a friend or even an associate of the Iscariots, but they would have had more of a foot in the door.

As things were right now, Iverson had no idea of the mental state of Lance or why he was potentially acting the way he was acting. If he was thinking clearly then it would be easy to reason to him, but considering how violent and sudden everyone felt the shift there was something very, very wrong with his mental state. And if there wasn’t something mentally wrong with him, he was definitely in a very dark place.

He picked up his phone and called Curtis. “Hello Curtis.”

 _“I felt it too.”_ Said Curtis calmly. _“This is just the prelude to the apocalypse, isn’t it?”_

“Yes.”

_“Huh, and we all believed there would be all those predictions like in Revelations.”_

“You know damn well that most of that stuff is bullshit to stop the masses from freaking out like headless chickens when the real apocalypse starts.” He sighed and looked through his desk drawer for a few blessed weapons. “I know you’re trying to distance yourself from us, but this is bigger than all of us. We can go back to keeping a fair distance from each other after we know the world won’t end.”

 _“... Fair enough.”_ Muttered Curtis. _“When angels and demons are coming to earth with the intent of wiping us all out, all this petty shit between us is pointless.”_

“Yeah… I trust you’ll be on our side?”

_“Of course Iverson… I assume we’re going to meet up outside the warlock’s house?”_

“Yes.” Said Iverson quietly. “I’ll see you there soon.” He hung up and hit a hidden button under his desk. Moments later a secret compartment opened up in his desk and out slid a hidden weapon’s case that contained his broadsword. He picked it up and sighed. It had been a few lifetimes since he had taken his sword back up. No matter what he needed to stop this. 

This wasn’t a stupid war that humanity had been dealing out since it’s conception. Those were wars fought over resources. Inconsequential and greedy things like land, and oil. This, if they could not stop it before it started, would be the war to end it all. The end of the world, universe, and even reality itself.

***

Marcello lit up a cigarette and took a long, slow drag. He felt it. He could feel the timeline coming to a vital point in history. It could just as easily end completely or continue on. It all depended on one decision. Hopefully it would be the right one and the timeline could continue on. Fuck all that resetting nonsence. 

He moved to get up when he felt an arm reach out and lightly brush up against his back. “Leaving so soon?” Crooned the young fairy woman.

“Unfortunately I have to run off right now.” Said Marcello. “Things are kind of running on a tight schedule for me and if I don’t want the world to get fucked in all of its holes like some kind of poor hentai victim, I gotta get a move on.”

The fairy sighed dramatically and lied back on their bed. “You said you wouldn’t leave me unsatisfied. I am very unsatisfied…”

“Consider this a rain check my dear.” He held her hand and lightly kissed it. “Tell you what, promise me you’ll crack out the strap on and I’ll come for you faster than a teenager getting their first glance of side boob.”

The fairy laughed and gestured for him to leave. “Off with you. When you get back we’ll make a real party of it. I have some friends that do adore humans and are very grateful for dealing with that mushroom problem of ours.”

Marcello grinned as he started to pull on his clothes. “This is why I love helping you fairies. Well the ones around here anyway. You’re a bunch of sex crazed beasts. Even more so than the nymphs, and those little shits guzzle cum more than a hungry succubus.” Once his clothes were back on he straightened his coat and bowed to the woman. “I promise to return soon my dear, once I stop a new god from ending the world.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just go.” She waved towards the door and Marcello laughed.

She probably didn’t believe that he was going to save the world. He was a selfish, self absorbed madman after all. He cracked his knuckles as he checked his pocket and removed his weapon of choice. He hummed to himself as he swished it through the air. 

“Let’s see what kind of god you really are, Lance McClain.”

***

Lotor hummed a little as he gently shook Lance’s body. “Come on. Time to wake up.”

After a few seconds Lance’s eyes snapped open. But they were distant and his iris’s shimmered several different shades of blue all at once. It was… definitely not human. Not anymore. When he stood up he forced his chair back. It slid backwards with such force into the wall it made several objects fall off the wall and shatter. The house’s very foundations started to crack and groan.

Lotor grinned and bowed. “Welcome to the world of the living. You would be the god that Lance had been trying to repress for far too long. Correct?”

“... Yes.” They said in almost a whisper.

“What do you want us to address you as?” Asked Lotor. “So that my coven can swear loyalty to you.”

“... Clavis.”

“Clavis? How fitting.”

The new god nodded and headed to the door. It opened well before he got close to it. Lotor wasn’t too sure where he was going. “To the lock.” Said Clavis. It seemed as though he was reading his mind. Which was a little concerning for Lotor, but it wasn’t that unexpected. “I am the key and I am going to the lock. I am going to open every door.”

Lotor couldn’t help but grin. “Every door?”

“Yes. The gates of hell in Jerusalem and the one in the Mariana trench will not be spared either. By unlocking one I unlock them all…” Said Clavis as they walked down the hallway. “The hidden gates of heaven whose hinges have long since rusted shut shall open too. Heaven’s gate’s in the Amazon, Kyoto, and Antarctica… All will open. The denizens of all realms will be able to move freely between realms… Their blatant disregard and hatred for change will consume them all and tear them all apart until there is nothing left.”

“Finally. The end of it all… Time to start fresh and anew.” Said Lotor. “A world we can reshape in our image.”

Clavis laughed at that. “Yes… But reshaping the world means wiping it clean. I will end this realm and every realm of all its pain and suffering… So no one will ever feel the same feelings of despair that this body has felt. I am the key. I am a god. I am the reluctant god of despair.”


	41. Lock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of long, so yeah, took some time to write. Hope you enjoy this madness. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Adam heard the gunshot and felt something strange ripple through the very fabric of reality. It made him shudder and fill with dread. He quickly left the comfort of his potions room and headed to see what was going on with Lance. He froze a little when he saw Lotor and Lance walking away from him down the hallway… 

But it wasn’t Lance. It wasn’t him at all. Just looking at Lance, Adam could tell that Lance was different, and not in a good way. He wasn’t even looking at Lance directly, but he was full of dread. Something was wrong with him. Very, very wrong. Adam didn’t even realize he was starting to have a panic attack until Lance left his line of sight. It was the same sheer panic he felt when that angry mob dragged him out of his home for the witchfinder in his last life.

He was trembling. Completely and utterly unable to move at all. Just being around him absolutely terrified him. That was horrifying. He didn’t know what to think at this point. Never before had felt that scared in Lance’s presence, or anyone’s presence for that matter. Lotor must have done something, but he wasn’t sure what.

Adam took out his phone and called Shiro. He heard heavy panting on the other side. “Shiro? Are you there?”

 _“Adam! Thank fuck you’re okay… What happened to Lance?”_ Asked the Manticore.

“... Why do you ask?” An angry voice yelled at Shiro. It sounded like Keith. “Where are you two? Are you two in trouble?”

 _“Not us. Lance.”_ Said Shiro. _“Keith lost his connection to Lance. Like, Lance isn’t his summoner anymore because Lance is dead.”_

“... Dead?”

_“Yeah, and there was that weird tremor. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel it too.”_

“Yeah, I felt it… Something happened to Lance.” Said Adam. “I heard a gunshot and when I went to see what was going on with him, I saw Lance walking with Lotor… Shiro, Lance is… He’s terrifying… He was just walking and it felt like… Fuck, it felt like I was going to die…”

_“... It was that bad?”_

“Shiro, I know what dying feels like. I felt like I was going to die.”

 _“... Keep your distance from those two, but try and see where they are going.”_ Instructed Shiro. _“We’ll be back soon.”_

“Okay… I will. Bye… Love you.”

_“I love you too Adam.”_

Adam hung up the phone and cautiously followed the two at a safe distance. They walked down to the ground floor, into the basement, and towards the door that led to the lock… The lock above the gate of hell. Adam quietly swore under his breath and quickly headed back to his potions room. He had a pretty good idea what was going to happen and he didn’t like it.

***

Lotor was more than happy with this outcome and was very impressed with the set up for the lock for the gate to hell. He looked over at Clavis. He had a distant and unfocused look in his eyes. With a flourish he gestured to the lock.

“Well, here it is. What are you going to do now Clavis? What is your plan?” He asked.

Clavis hummed a little as they looked up at the lock. “I’m going to open the lock… I’m going to wipe the slate clean… I can’t stand this world… I want to start something new.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Lotor was very pleased with this. This was exactly what he wanted. With his coven’s power quickly starting to wane he needed some source of power to keep his coven alive. The best way he could see getting infinite power from a creature more powerful than the demon Diabazzel, was to actually side with a god… And if that god happened to erase it all and start again, then he would have to bring his coven along too. With any luck he would even give his coven positions as lesser gods of demi-gods in the next life. It had happened before. He had heard tales and interacted with beings that had been there since the conception of this world

“Yes.” Said Clavis as he approached the ring of lava around the lock. He didn’t stop his stride as he walked barefoot over the molten rock. He didn’t even react to the heat or anything. Lotor had to use a levitation spell to get over the lava. When he got there, the god was walking around the lock, running his hand over the carvings.

“So… I think it goes without saying that my coven is more than willing to dedicate our lives to you. A pact between us-”

“Is not necessary.” Said Clavis calmly. “I have no need for a coven nor do I want one. I want to create a universe without pain and suffering. The only way to do so is to never create life. I must be the only one left alive to make sure nothing else exists.”

This was not what Lotor was expecting. Most gods demanded and expected mortals to bow down and worship them. They fed off that worship and gratification. They needed it to exist. If a god had no one to worship them then in the end they would fade away… the only way they could linger was if they had a will stronger than that of mortal beings.

“To live a full life one has to experience the full range of emotions.” Said Clavis. “I won’t harm living beings by excluding them from the full range of emotions. To do so nothing can exist. Nothing at all. Mortals, immortals, and so on… This is the end of everything. I’ll let the demons and angels kill the majority of everything and then I will use my power to end the rest of it all.”

“But without mortals to worship you, you could vanish.”

Clavis shrugged. “Then so be it. All I wish is for the end of all suffering. If to do so I must kill everything, and then when only my suffering is left, only then I will be able to fade into nothing and we shall all find peace in death.”

“Um…” This was not the plan. 

The god seemed to notice his struggle and looked over at him with a cold, emotionless gaze. “You hesitate? Lotor, you were the one that helped bring me out… I am guessing you were expecting me to accept your coven as my own? Perhaps make you gods of the new world? Give you all power?”

“... Perhaps?”

They chuckled and shook his head. “You’re a smart man, but I came into existence because of despair and desperation. I’m not a god that brings prosperity. I am a god that wants it all to end. Life and living is not what I am concerned with… But for your efforts and bringing me here, I will let you say goodbye to the rest of your coven. So once more, thank you Lotor, and goodbye.”

He waved his hand and the floor opened up like a door under Lotors feet. He fell through and was gone in an instant. When Clavis was alone they easily ascended to the top of the lock. They knelt down and closed their eyes, letting their power and energy flow through them and into the lock. The lock was… It was stiff and practically welded shut from disuse. It was going to take a while to actually open it up. He’d need to use some more force into it than usual.

***

Adam had grabbed a few potions he felt could help Shiro and Keith if something terrible happened, along with a few healing potions. He headed back down to the first floor and contemplated if he should head to the basement or go and wait outside when the front door burst open.

Adam froze as he was face to face with the Iscariots. Iverson was leading them, and while some seemed surprised to see him, Iverson did not. “I thought that warlock was hiding you away…”

“Iverson… I…”

He raised his hand. “Enough of it.” He said calmly. “No time to worry about that. All that matters is this; are you willing to take up arms to defend reality in the true war to end all wars?”

Adam was confused for a moment before it clicked. “Oh… The end of the world… The true apocalypse is about to start…”

Iverson nodded. “Yep. If this isn’t stopped soon then-” The whole house shuddered. “Shit, the door is getting opened. Adam! Where is the damn lock?”

He was a little hesitant, but he didn’t want to see the world end in fire and blood. “Follow me.” 

Adam reluctantly led the group down to where the lock was. He was surprised to see what was unfolding before him. The pillar was moving. Very slowly twisting and grinding together. The sound of clicks echoed around the room as the internal mechanisms slowly fell into place. Another quake shook the room and the tower fell down a few meters before it stopped and the clicking happened again. If they didn’t stop the pillar from falling then the world would end.

“James!” Snapped Iverson.

“On it!” The angel quickly spread their wings and flew at full speed at the pillar. The second he got close to it, an eruption of hellfire exploded out of the lava, reaching the ceiling and melting the stone above.

The angel caught fire and was violently forced back. They hit the ground and the fire quickly went out. The presence of hellfire made Adam shiver. Not only were holy beings such as angels unable to cross such a barrier, it meant that the gate was starting to open. If the gate was starting to open then that meant that demons could start crawling through.

Almost as if on cue, from the flames small, gnarled creatures started to pull themselves out of the red flames. They shook off the soot and started growling and hissing. A precursor to more devastating monsters that would crawl out once they were able to crawl through the gate. He couldn’t imagine the panic happening at the other gates.

“Damn it!” Hissed Iverson. “Iscariots! Who are we?!”

“The necessary evil!”

“Why are we?”

“Because no one else will!”

“Leave no throat uncut! No life reaped! Kill them all, and let god sort them out! Attack!” Ordered Iverson. The Iscariots let out a mighty cry as they surged forward to smite the demons. They needed to end the and hold them at bay until they could figure out a way to pass through the barrier.

***

When Shiro and Keith got into the basement they kind of had to take a step back. Apparently the Iscariots were also there and fighting demons… that were crawling out from a ring of hellfire around the pillar.

“Well, fuck…” Said Shiro. “This is… Well it’s different…”

“Yep… So this is the end of the world, huh?”

“Apparently so.”

“Shiro!” Adam quickly ran towards the two of them. He looked a little frantic. As soon as he got close to his lover they hugged tightly. “Everything’s fucked.”

“I can tell… What happened?”

Adam looked over at the pillar. “The pillar is the lock, and whatever happened to Lance… He’s acting out the part of the key and is going to open it.” The room quaked as the pillar dropped a few meters before stopping. “It keeps doing that. Once the pillar hits the bottom then it’s the end of the world… And every time it does that more demons are able to crawl out of the hellfire. The Iscariots can’t cross it.”

“One of us will have to cross it.” Said Keith. They were demons. A barrier of hellfire might singe them a little, but they would both be able to cross it. Though Keith was a little apprehensive about fire in general. Childhood trauma for the win. “One of us just needs to find an opening and then we can jump through it and climb the tower… I’m assuming Lance is up there?”

“Your guess is as good as mine but I’d assume so…” Said Adam. He looked around at everything and gulped. “Shit… Fuck, I… I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared before… And I’ve fucking died a lot… But this...”

Keith frowned as he tried to figure out the quickest way to get to the pillar while avoiding Iscarioys and demons. As he did so he happened to notice a familiar Iscariot impaling a small demon with a stick. It was Curtis. He saw them and quickly went over to them. Both Shiro and Adam became apprehensive to see him.

“Are you guys okay?!” He asked.

“We’re fine.” Said Adam. “... Curtis, we need to get one of them to the barrier. Only a demon can pass through hellfire. We have two.”

The Iscarriot looked between them before he sighed and nodded. “Yeah, alright. I get it… Look, I know you two don’t trust me but-”

“I trust you enough to keep Adam safe.” Said Shiro. Hearing that surprised Keith a lot. He would have thought that he would have at least have some distrust towards Curtis of all people. “You two have trusted each other over lifetimes… We’ll take care of this. Just protect each other.” He looked over at Keith. “Race you to the barrier.”

Before Keith could say anything, Shiro shrugged off his human disguise and returned to his manticore form. Keith growled at his littermate as he did the same and ran after Shiro. It was surprisingly difficult to jump and run around crazing religious zealots casting spells and demons trying to eat his toes.

The two of them were so close to the barrier when the pillar fell again. The quake was larger this time and made part of the ceiling fall in. Not a huge deal… But holy light started to pour in from the cracks in the ceiling. It made Keith and Shiro stop in their tracks. They couldn’t pass through holy light. 

Through the cracks in the ceiling, creatures started to pull themselves through. Heavenly beings were starting to cross over to this side too. A creature made of flames, wheels and eyes flew out of the light and made a beeline towards him.

“... Shit!” Keith quickly turned tail and ran. The angel was hot on his heels and seemed to be hellbent on destroying him. Keith had fought many things, but fighting an angel was not one of them. Closest he had ever come to fighting an angel was that brief fight he had with James.

He tripped and skidded forward. He rolled onto his back just in time to see the angelic creature jump into the air and try to slam into his body. But before it hit him, the angel got caught in thin webs. The webs quickly covered the angel and crushed it into a mangled mess.

Keith looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Sar! What are you doing here?”

Krolia smiled and quickly helped him to his feet. “Hello kit. You didn’t think that our coven would miss the end of the world did you?” She gestured to the rest of the Mamora coven that had quickly spread themselves out and were fighting off demons and angels alike. Occasionally an Iscariot if they tried to stab them, but they were sticking to the other creatures from other realms.

“What’s the situation?” Asked Kolivan as he readied a spell with his hands.

“Lance is up there on the top of the pillar… Maybe.” Said Keith. “But no one can get to him because of the hellfire and the holy light. We only have until the pillar drops before the world is completely fucked.”

“... Shit.” Muttered Kolivan. “This is… Verk is more proficient in barrier magic than us. Verk is over there.” He gestured to the far side of the cavern where some kind of angelic serpent was trying to attack a small group of Mamora coven members.

“I’m on it!” Said Keith. He quickly ran towards the serpent. He managed to pass Shiro as he was busy clawing at some annoying flying cherubim type creatures that were taunting him. Keith managed to rip one of them apart in midair for him, which he hoped that Shiro appreciated.

He was so close to Verk and the serpent when he saw something while flash out of the corner of his eye. He only had a second to prepare himself before an angel grabbed him and tackled him. Instead of forcing him into the ground, they flew up high into the air.

“Ready for round two, sin-eater scum?” Growled James.

Keith growled back and dug his claws into the armor plates covering the angel’s skin. He felt it cracking. “Bring it on.”

***

“Alright, I’m here.” Said Marcello as he happily walked past a stalagmite and froze. Angels, demons, Iscariots, witches, and everyone else was just getting slaughtered. “... Okay, maybe I’m a little late to the party… Shit, if I’d known it would have been this fucked up I would have brought some beer or something… Eh, maybe next time.”

He sat on a rock and happily observed the carnegie. It was beautiful. Seeing heaven and hell fighting each other was something beautiful. All that carnegie was just so perfect. So bloody and disgusting. He couldn’t help but revel in it. 

Though the only problem was that he wasn’t causing this carnage. Which annoyed him, but then again, with all these bodies around he could have some with necromancy. Hell, if he just wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t.

His opportunity came very soon when in front of him a man with glasses threw something that looked like a bottle of thick, green liquid at some kind of vicious looking demon with gangally limbs. The demon didn’t seem to like that, and with a swift movement, it quickly moved its arm and stabbed him right in the guts. The man went limp and the demon shrugged him off.

Another man yelled something out at the demon. Possibly calling them a bastard. He was a darker skinned man and they were fighting the demonic creature with extreme prejudice. This was interesting. These two humans seemed to be much closer than just brother’s in arms. They looked like they might be Iscariots. Marcello couldn’t help but shudder in anticipation at the thought of fucking with the Iscariots.

He watched as the dark skinned man killed the demon. Once the demon was dead, the man quickly went over to his friend that was bleeding out on the ground. He held them in his arms and looked like he was crying and saying something as the other died in his arms. As this happened the demon, that was still kicking ever so slightly, reached forward and stabbed the other man right through the chest before it finally kicked the bucket.

Both men laid on the ground, dead, cradling each other in their arms. It was a beautifully tragic sight. It made Marcello laugh. He happily clapped his hands and walked over to the bodies. The most intact he had seen so far. Time to fuck with the Iscariots.

He crouched down over the bloodied bodies and laid his hands on both of them. Blood loss was their problem. Death should give him something challenging for once. Oh well. Without much effort he easily healed their wounds and refilled their bodies with blood. Sure he could have brought them back as undead creatures, but that wouldn’t fuck with the Iscariots. They needed to be alive.

Both men suddenly gasped back to life and sat up. They were both shocked to find that they were still alive. They held each other and cried, which just annoyed Marcello. He was never one for this emotional crap.

“Okay, wakey, wakey you two.” Said Marcello. “Apocalypse is still happening. Time to get back to kicking ass.”

The darker skinned man looked up at Marcello and looked horrified. “YOU!”

“Yes, me. What of it?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember me?” He snapped. “Curtis? You fucking robbed me!”

“... Oh yeah… I did…” Marcello shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, try not to die again. I usually play with dead things. I’d rather you two stay alive so I don’t have to bring you back to life again. It’s annoying. I have more creative things to do with dead things then bring them back to life.”

“Why did you bring us back to life?” Asked the other man cautiously. “You aren’t known for doing things out of the goodness of your heart…”

Marcello pouted. “What? I’m not allowed to be nice for once? … Yeah, okay. I couldn’t keep a straight face saying that… Look, point is, you two just being alive right now is entertainment enough for me.”

Another quake rocked the cavern as the pillar dropped a few meters again. “Fuck.” Swore Curtis. “At this rate we’re all fucking dead… Kind of fucking pointless of you bringing us back to life if we’re just going to die again…”

Marcello nodded in agreement. “Very true, however, I came packing a gun to this knife fight… Too bad I’m like a quadraplegic trying to use a normal handgun… I just need to find the dumbass with the hands to actually use the fucking gun.” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a sin-eater having a midair fight with a pissed off looking angel. The two of them quickly crashed into the ground. Marcello grinned and clapped his hands. “Hey! I found my dumbass with hands! Later you two, don’t fucking die on me again or I’ll fucking kill you!”

He heard them shouting at him, but Marcello didn’t give a fuck. He needed to drop a very special weapon to a very special creature. Hopefully when he gave them the weapon they would actually do what they needed to do. God fucking forbid they had some internal moral dilemma. 

That factor always fucked this timeline up. He’d seen it several times and got the fuck out of there before everything collapsed into nothingness. Would this time be different? He had no idea. It was still going to be a blast to see how everything was going to turn out.

***

Keith hit the ground hard with James on top of him. He clawed at the angel’s arms as he attempted to strangle him. This was not working out well for him. Keith didn’t have time for this. He needed to get to Lance and knock some sense into him before it was too late.

“Just fucking die already.” Growled James. “I’ve always hated demons. You disgusting, filthy monster. You things always think you’re so smart and clever. You think you’re above everything, but you’re so, so far fucking below us it’s fucking insignificant!”

Keith was starting to get tunnel vision. He started to desperately scramble for something, anything. His hands landed on a rock and he quickly swung it up. It made direct contact with his head and made a cracking noise. His grip weakened, but James didn’t let go. So Keith hit him over and over again in the head until blood and bits of bone went flying everywhere.

Even when James had let him go, Keith kept basking him in the head with the rock. He didn’t stop until he stopped moving. Even then Keith bashed his face in a few more times. Keith let the rock in his head and let out a sigh. He doubted that bashing his face in would actually kill the damn angel, but at least now the fucking thing wasn’t trying to kill him at the moment.

He coughed and slowly stood up. The ground shook again as the pillar dropped a few more meters. The heavenly light started to glow brighter and the fires from hell blasted brighter. Was there even a way to stop this now? No demons could pass because of the holy light and no angel could pass because of the hellfire.

How the fuck was he going to get to Lance? Maybe he could have avoided this if he just paid more attention to Lance? Spent more time helping him with what he was going through and not worrying about his own shit. Everything he was going through was nothing compared to Lance.

“... Fuck. This is all… Shit.”

“You doing okay there buddy?” Asked Marcello as he happily walked over to him.

Keith jumped a little in shock and glared at him. “Oh fuck no! I’m not dealing with you again!”

Marcello put his hands up and grinned. “Hey now, don’t be like that. I honestly don’t know who you are at the moment because time travel and stuff, but hey, here I am because of that.” He gestured to the pillar. “Pretty fucked up huh?”

“...” Keith looked back at the tower. Another quake rattle the cave. The quakes seemed to be happening a lot more frequently. Could they even stop what was happening anymore? Was it already too late? He couldn’t help but feel guilty about all of this. Lance was his summoner and his lover. He was his responsibility. He felt like he was going to cry. There wasn’t anything he could do at this point.

Marcello just hummed happily to himself, took out a cigar out, and happily lit it up on a nearby flaming body. “Gotta say, I would have thought the end of the world would have had more blood… Eh, guess that shit happens after the gates are open huh? … You think any demons will crawl out of the Mariana trench or will the pressure crush anything trying to crawl through? You think the Rabbi are shitting their pants?”

“My fault…” Muttered Keith.

“Hmmm?”

“My fault…” Said Keith. “Everything’s all my fault… Fuck!”

Marcello sighed. “Ah, so I guess it’s all my fault then.”

“... What?”

The man shrugged. “Well everything is apparently my fault. Fucked a fairy and she got knocked up? My fault. Fooled around in time and accidentally oopsied a few wars? My fault. A certain chicken fast food restaurant that’s closed on Sundays has a raging boner for hating the gays? My fault.”

“This isn’t your fault!” Snapped Keith. “Lance… He was my summoner! He was my responsibility! And I fucking failed him now everyone is going to fucking die in some stupid demonic surge when the gates of heaven and hell open up!”

The warlock hummed a little as they continued to view the situation as Keith was spiraling. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I failed Lance! I failed everyone!”

“The only way you fail is by giving up.”

“I give up because I’m not strong enough!” Growled Keith. “Look, just fucking look! Hell fire is repelling any angelic force and the heavenly light is fucking making it impossible for a demon to pass! We’re so fucked and I… I’m a fucking failure… Fuck!”

“But you’re not an angel.” Said Marcello. “And you’re not a demon either. You’re both, or did you forget that?”

“But I’m not strong enough to do anything! I’ll probably die twice as fast if I go in there.”

Marcello rolled his eyes as he very calmly stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. “Right. Okay. Fair enough. But counter argument-” he backhanded Keith hard enough to make him stumble back. He then grabbed the demon by the horns and glared at him. “-You are a god damn, fuck-mothering chimera! You’re part angel, part demon, part god damn human! You are every fucking thing imaginable! You are so much stronger than you think you are!”

“How the fuck do you know?!” Yelled Keith. “How the flying fuck do you know anything about me?!”

“Because I am the mother fucking, necomancing, time traveling warlock. I have seen things you cannot even fathom. I have seen timelines where things are linear and where things branch off. I know for a fucking fact the only one stopping you from stopping the timeline where things go completely to shit, is you.” They shoved Keith down, took what looked like the hilt of a sword out of their belt and dropped it at their feet. “Stop running from who you are. Accept it. Embrace it. And go for it’s fucking throat. Like a real fucking god slayer.”

Keith picked up the hilt. It seemed to be a configuration of many different parts. Some of them looked like they could have been repurposed from different holy and demonic relics. It was interesting. A kaleidoscope of colors shot out of it and morphed into a blade.

Marcello chuckled. “A blade created from weapons from both heaven and hell. Can only be wielded by a human with the strength of a demon and the virtue of an angel. Only the offspring of a Sin-Eater and a human could wield the blade that can strip life from even the most powerful deity if they so choose. The god slayer.”

Keith knew better than to trust Marcello. “What do you get out of this?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

Marcello pouted. “... Okay fine. I am not doing this because I am good and all that shit. I am doing this because if anyone is going to destroy the world it damn well is gonna be me. Not that fucking shit.”

Keith looked down at the sword, then back at Marcello. “... So you want me to kill Lance?”

“Well, the god anyway. That blade can only kill gods.” Said Marcello. “Give him a little poke with that in the face or neck and that should render the god inside him dead.”

“And Lance?”

“Eh, flip a coin or something.” Said Marcello. “No idea how long a soul stays inside a body after all that god shit happens. If there is any of the old Lance inside him then yeah, he’ll be fine… But does that really matter right now if Lance lives or dies?” He gestured all around them. “I think we have a little something arguably more… important to deal with?”

Keith hated it when Marcello was right. Another damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. He took a firm grip of the sword and ran towards the tower. He dodged and weaved around the battling demons, Iscariots, and angels as he headed towards the fire. He knew this was going to hurt so fucking much, but he needed to get to Lance before the tower completely dropped and the gates were completely open.

Keith gritted his teeth and jumped into the wall of infernal and holy bastardry. His skin bubbled, peeled, and cracked. He felt his hair singe and fingernails crack off. It hurt like a bitch, but he had to do it. He would do anything for Lance. Even if it meant getting burned to ash in the fires of hell or blinded by the lights of heaven.


	42. God Slayer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to come to an end... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Passing through the barrier, everything was warm. So warm and soft. It felt like he had been covered in a soft, velvet blanket. He opened his eyes and everything was white. Not blindingly white, but softer and kinder. His eyes were immediately drawn to the only other figure with any colour in the empty expanse fo white. Lance. He was hunched over on his hands and knees.

“Lance!” Keith quickly ran to him, but had to take pause when he noticed something kind of disturbing, despite there being no wind in this vast and empty expanse, Lance's hair and clothes were moving like he was a breeze flowing around him. “Lance?”

The man looked up at him. His skin appeared to be cracking and underneath was some kind of moving, liquid blue crystal. It was disturbing, yet beautiful at the same time. He smiled softly at Keith and stood up.

“Clavis.” They said in a soft spoken voice. “I am also known as Key, or The Key. I must admit this is a very strange way to be reincarnated, but it is what it is.”

“You mean that giant pile of bones that got absorbed into the ring?” Asked Keith.

They nodded. “Yeah, that was strange… I am meant to be a different being that isn’t confined to the body of a mortal, but this is how it is.”

“Why are you trying to open the gates?” Asked Keith. “What do you get out of it?”

They smiled at Keith. “Keith, do you know how gods are created? We are either forces of nature given personification-” Clavis waved their arm and through the white, empty void, flashes and images of nature and natural disasters played out. “-or forces of human nature given the same personification.” He moved his other arm and Keith saw images of war, families, lovers, and just general images of humans interacting. “Can you guess what kind of god I am?”

“... I don’t understand why you are acting like this.” Said Keith. “Lance, this isn’t you… I-I know you’ve been struggling with having god-like powers, but I was trying really hard to help you! We were all trying to help you!”

“I know, and I’m not upset with you.” They sighed and gazed aimlessly into empty space. “You did what you could and I have always appreciated everything you have done. I appreciate what everyone has done for me… Out of all the people that have helped me, I always appreciated you the most.”

“Appreciated? Lance, I love you!” Yelled Keith. “There’s no way I wouldn’t help you! You mean everything to me! You know I do! Why do you want everything to end? If everything just ended then that means I would die too! Do you really want me to die?”

They seemed surprised by that question. “I… No. I don’t want to kill you, but if I am to complete my own mission then I can’t make acceptions for anyone… Not even a lover.” They said quietly. “I want what’s best for everyone, but I can’t do that if everyone is alive because when everyone is alive they have freewill. Freewill to do so much good, but at the same time the will to do so much harm. I refuse to create life without freewill, but refuse to let life harm one another to survive. The only solution is to end it all to end all suffering.”

Keith shook his head. This wasn’t Lance talking. He didn’t understand what he was saying. Some of it he could kind of get, but he just didn’t. Ending everything instead of improving it was… He just didn’t understand.

Clavis smiled at him. Unphased by is confusion. “It’s okay if you don’t understand it. You just have to accept it.”

“I can’t accept that!”

“I know. That’s why you have a god slayer.” He gestured to the sword in Keith’s hand. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. You’re going to do what you’re going to do, I just want to explain why I’m doing what I am doing.”

“What more is there to say?” Asked Keith. “You’re not… This isn’t you. Lance, you’re not the kind of guy that would just let everyone die.”

“Oh really?”

“Really.” Keith didn’t want to use the god slayer on Lance. He’d stabbed and cut Lance down enough when he was possessed by Marcello. Back then he had a plan with a good chance that Lance would come back. “I… I’m sorry. I should have helped you more… I should have paid more attention to you…”

“You did what you could. It’s fine.” Said Clavis calmly. He sighed and sat back on the ground. It was kind of surprising how calm they were.

“... What about Shiro and Adam?” Asked Keith. “They have been waiting for each other for so long, and now that they are together… You can’t just take it away from them! And what about Hunk and Pidge? They are your friends! What about Allura and Coran? Your family? Do they all deserve to die?”

“No one deserves to die.” Said Clavis. “But by the same breath no one deserves to live either. You can plan a pregnancy, but no one ever asks to be born into this world. It’s through a series of uncontrollable circumstances that life starts and continues on… So many terrible things happen when one is alive.”

“Yeah, like what?”

Clavis chuckled. “You’re a sin eater. You eat peadophiles, rapists, and molesters. You can’t say that those things are worth the risk of living… Those kinds of people just… Non-existence is better than pain and suffering… I just want to help everyone.”

“You can’t help everyone.” Said Keith. “That’s a fact of life.”

“Yet another reason to end it all.”

Keith wasn’t getting through to him. He didn’t want to hurt Lance. He wanted to stay by his side and help him. Lance was his summoner, his friend, his lover. His everything. “What are you going to do when everything is gone? Are you going to make a new world of just…”

Clavis shrugged and continued to look out at the nothingness. “I thought about a new world for a moment. I entertained the idea of creating a world with people and animals and plants that could live in perfect harmony with each other… I thought about bringing you with me to rule with me as an equal. Another god… But I can’t bring myself to do that.”

“Why not?” Asked Keith, though he felt he might know the answer.

“If I saved you from the end of everything I would need to save Shiro.” They said. “If I saved Shiro I would have to save Adam. Adam would want Curtis. Then you might still want Hunk and Pidge. I would have to save their families and the loved ones of every member of those families. I couldn’t do that. In the end I would have accomplished nothing… The world is nothing but a rotting mess…”

“...” Keith sat next to him and sighed. Things would have been so much easier if Lance just attacked him. Hurting someone so resigned to their fate made him feel bad. “This isn’t you… This is… It’s depression, and probably some part of your PTSD too… I’m still not too sure what all your symptoms were…”

“That’s okay.” Said Clavis. “... Since you were so close to me, if you like, we can stay here together? Just for a little while… I… The last person I see, I want that last person to be you.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way.” Said Keith. “You just… You’re upset and don’t know how to deal with everything… Ending the world won’t change anything.”

Clavis sighed sadly and leaned against Keith’s shoulder. “I… I’m just tired of feeling like nothing is getting better. That nothing is going to change… I… I’m stuck and I can’t figure out how to save myself… You were having an identity crisis. I didn’t want to burden you with my problems…”

“Lance… Your problems are my problems.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes before they spoke again. “Why do you keep calling me Lance? My name is Clavis.”

“Because you are Lance.” Said Keith. He held his hand and squeezed. “You weren’t referring to Lance as someone else. You kept saying things like I and me. You’re still Lance, even if you say you aren’t… And I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Well you don’t have much of a choice.” Said Clavis quietly. “You can either wait here with me and the world will end, or you can kill me and stop it.”

There had to be another way. There was always another way. Keith just had to think of a plan, but he didn’t know what to do. He ran his thumb over Lance’s knuckles. His thumb bumped against Lance’s ring. A ring made from the bones of the original Key. Some supernatural monster that was meant to be the real bringer of the apocalypse. 

“So, do you want to end me and save the world, or sit here with me and just let it happen?”

Keith sighed as he stood up and looked down at him. No matter what, he still didn’t want to hurt Lance. Maybe this was just the kindest thing to do for him right now? Just ending his suffering?

“Are you going to fight back?” He asked.

They just shrugged. “I don’t see the point. Either way I get what I want. Everything ends. If I am the only one who no longer has to feel anything, then I guess I would be a little sad that everyone has to continue suffering by living… But you have a god slayer weapon, so there is no point in me fighting back. Those are things made to kill gods. So do with it what you will. Either kill me or sit by me again.” 

They waved their hand in the air and before them was a vision of a sunset at a beach. The god sighed as they watched it. They almost seemed kind of mournful. Maybe they still had some humanity in them? The bad thing was that Keith couldn’t risk it. There was no time. This was the end of the world.

He looked down at the sword in his hands and then back down at the man he loved. “... I’m sorry… I know for a fact that my Lance, the man I love more than anything I know… He would never want this… Goodbye...”

“Goodbye Keith.”

***

Marcello had quickly gotten bored after he had given Keith the god slayer. So he amused himself by making a chair out of all the dead things. One of the things good about being a necromancer. He almost had an entire dining room set.

“MARCELLO!” Bellowed Iverson. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

The necromancer jumped a little in surprise before he happily sat on one of his chairs. “Iverson! Been a hot minute since I’ve seen you. How’s it going? Have you gotten laid yet or are you still using your hands?”

“Marcello…”

“Finally found a little timmy to attach to your crotch?” He asked. “Don’t get mad at me. You’re just following in the footsteps of forefathers and people running the religious organizations you so blindly worship. Tell me, has the Vatican really cracked down on the kiddy diddling or have they just done the pedo shuffle and moved everyone around again?”

Iverson looked like he was grinding his teeth. “Marcello…”

Marcello was just loving how pissed off Iverson was getting. “What? Come now. I’m a true misotheist. You can’t expect me to take any of your god shit seriously. Anyway, this is one hell of a party.” There was an extremely loud quake as the lock passed the halfway point. “And we’ve hit over time baby!”

“MARCELLO!”

“What?”

“Would you stop making furniture out of my followers!”

Marcello raised an eyebrow and looked down at his table set. “To be fair, I thought that you guys were all about the body just being a vessel for the soul? What do you care about what happens to the body when it’s dead? Not like I’m fucking it or anything. Not into that. Might be a necromancer, but I’m not a necrophiliac.”

Iverson’s disgust and repulsion was visible, but he tried to compose himself. “If you aren’t going to help anyone, the fuck off.”

“You are no fun.” Muttered Marcello. Kolivan suddenly fell from the sky and landed on the table. He instantly broke it from the impact. Marcello just sighed loudly and pouted as Kolivan slowly got up and cursed. “Well now you owe me a new table.”

Kolivan grunted at him and stood up and brushed some of the gore off his body and looked at Iverson. “... Iscariot.”

Iverson nodded at him. “Mamora.”

“I think this goes without saying, but truse?” Asked Kolivan. “At least until the apocalypse is averted.”

“Of course.”

Marcello laughed. “Seriously? Who would have thought that the mother fucking end of the fucking world would bring the child molesters and goat fuckers together.” Both mean glared at the necromancer. Marcello just shrugged. “What? You can’t tell me that you guys don’t have a reputation for touching kids, and you lot don’t do shady things with goats. I have seen some rituals and spells that involve either fucking a goat or getting fucked by a goat.” He leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Well, at least the goat fucking usually leads to something like a fertility ritual or opening a portal so that I can kind of excuse. Kid diddling on the other hand, not really sure what good Christian values that-”

“SHUT UP!” Yelled both men.

“No need to yell at me…”

“Why can’t you take this seriously?” Asked Kolivan.

“Because that is just what you all want.” Said Marcello. “And I never give anyone what they want unless it’s what I want… Speaking of which if anyone is interested in an end of the world orgy…”

Iverson looked at Kolivan, and Kolivan looked at Iverson. They seemed to share one single thought, and that thought was murder. They looked like they were planning to murder him at the end of the world.

“Um, so if you two would turn your attention to the pillar…” Said Marcello calmly. “If things turn out the way I think they should then um… by the next quake everything will be fine and the end of the world will be over… Maybe?”

Iverson cracked his knuckles and took a step towards him. “I stand by what I told my members; kill them all, and let god sort them out.”

Kolivan readied a spell in his hands. It looked very pointy and electrical. Very painful. “I’m not what you would call a religious man, but I’m more than happy to help Marcello see god at the end of the world.”

“... Ah, fuck…” Marcello quickly jumped up and ran for it. He didn’t want to mess up the timeline too badly. Hell, he was only just giving it a quick hip check. Making sure it would go in the right direction, but this was just annoying now. He had to use his powers for defence, not offence. Totally not his fighting style.

Suddenly a quake much louder and more intense shook the cave. Much to everyone’s surprise the heavenly light and hellfire started to recede as the pillar started to rise again. Soon the tower was back standing tall and all everyone had to deal with was the remaining angels and demons.

Marcello smiled. He had done it. He had saved the world, and it seemed like this world was on the path of the true neutral ending. Not the best ending, but not the worst either. So Marcello was happy. He was happy enough to turn around and go back to that fairy orgy he damn well deserved.

Before he could jump back to that the sound of stone cracking echoed around the room. The pillar had split in two, right down the center. The pillar then crumbled into rubble. Marcello was surprised. So it wasn’t the neutral ending after all. It was the good ending. This timeline was very interesting indeed.

If he squinted his eyes he could see two figures in the rubble. One was obviously Keith, and the other was Lance. Which wasn’t surprising since this was the good ending. If this was the neutral ending Lance probably would have exploded. Oh well. At least they were still all there. If they were alive, Marcello didn’t care. It really didn’t concern him.

The only thing he was really interested in was the fact that Lance survived being a god. He smirked a little. Now that he was getting older he probably should think about his own legacy. It was time for Marcello to look into his family tree… But after the fairy orgy of course. That was very important and came first.


	43. One week later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter... I hope you all had fun on this wild right. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“-And that is how I almost started the apocalypse, ended the world, but Keith stopped me.” Said Lance. He was having his weekly session with Slav. The poor man looked horrified. Lance couldn’t blame him. Everyone was kind of in shock that he was still alive and they didn’t have to deal with trying to fight behemoths and angels from the first circle.

Slav quickly composed himself from his shocked state. “So you… You don’t feel like a god anymore? Any of that egotistical, narcissistic, self righteousness remaining?”

“Not that I know of, and I actually feel a lot better.” Said Lance. “Much better than I used to be. I think my main problem might have been the fact that I was… I think that subconsciously the god was slowly taking over my mind.”

“Hmm, perhaps.” Agreed Slav. “Gods are extremely powerful deities and not something to be taken lightly. It could have been exacerbating your current condition and causing you much more harm than good… I would still like you to come in for a few more sessions. You probably still have PTSD from the initial experience with your uncle.”

“Yeah. I figured as much.” Said Lance. “I kind of figured that my improved mood might actually just be a high before my anxiety or depression kicks in and I’m in a really bad place.”

Slav nodded along. He seemed pleased that Lance was able to identify these issues himself and see that they were issues. “If something like that does happen, you do remember the exercises I told you to try?”

“Yep.”

“Good… And you remember the emergency numbers to call if they don’t work and you feel like ending your life?”

“Memorized.”

“Good. If something like that does happen we will start looking into medication. Are you okay with that?”

Lance nodded and looked down at his watch. “Yep.”

“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” Asked Slav curiously. “Wait, don’t tell me… Are you wearing white socks with two blue stripes around the opening?”

Lance looked down at his socks and nodded. “Yep.”

Slav grinned. “I see. Well, if there is nothing you wish to discuss any further, I think we can end everything five minutes early.”

“Thanks Slav.” Said Lance as he got up. “Same time next week?”

“Of course.”

“Awesome. Later.” Lance happily waved goodbye to him and headed out of the building and to his car. 

Things had been going extremely well for him for the past few days. Keith had used the god slayer on him and managed to destroy the god that had formed inside of him because of Marcello, but didn’t destroy his body and the small bit of humanity he had left inside him. That magic gun still did shoot and kill its target. Lance wanted most of the humanity in him gone so he could stop fighting the god within. The key word being most. Lance had still been hesitant about losing his humanity completely. It was enough to save him. 

He smiled a little as he looked down at his hand clutching his keys. It was the hand that once had Marcello’s ring. A ring made out of the bone of the original Key. The actual god that could open the gates to heaven and hell. When Keith stabbed him, it hadn't been through the chest or the heart. Keith had driven the sword right through his hand. He could still vividly remember it...

***

Keith looked down at the sword in his hand and then back down at him. The Sin-Eater looked so unsure and hesitant in his actions. “... I’m sorry… I know for a fact that my Lance, the man I love more than anything, I know… He would never want this… Goodbye…”

He wasn’t upset. They had a feeling that Keith wouldn’t be able to go on without Lance. Though he did wonder how Keith felt about having to save Lance by cutting him down with a sword for a second time. It had to have taken a toll on him somehow. But that didn’t matter. He knew that Keith would either lay down his sword and watch the whole of everything end, or slay him and let the cycle of living in pain continue.

“Goodbye Keith.” 

He had closed his eyes and half expected the blade of the god slayer to pierce his head. Instead he felt pain in his hand followed by something that sounded like glass shattering. His eyes instantly flew open and he looked down at his hand. The light blade had passed through his flesh without causing any harm. But the ring on his finger had cracked.

Lance looked up at Keith. The demon in front of him fell to his knees as he held on tight to the hilt of the sword, driving it deeper into his hand. “There…” He said quietly. “It’s done… I killed the god…”

“Keith… I… I don’t understand…”

“You’re not a god… Lance, you never wanted to be a god.” Said Keith quietly as his voice wavered. “We both know that ring was made from the bone of a god… I… I really was just hoping that would work… I don’t want to hurt you.” He wrapped one arm around Lance and cried into his shoulder.

There was another glass shattering crack and the ring on Lance’s finger completely shattered into a thousand pieces. When that happened the blade of god slayer vanished and the hilt was all that remained. With the ring shattered a heavy weight seemed to be lifted from his shoulders, and Lance felt lighter than he ever had before. He suddenly became overwhelmed by his own emotions and started to cry as he hugged Keith back just as tightly as he held him.

“I-I don’t want to hurt you either…” Sobbed Lance. “I don’t want to hurt anyone… I… Fuck, I almost killed everyone… I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay.” Said Keith. “Everything is fine now.”

Lance sniffled and opened his eyes slightly. It might have just been his eyes playing tricks on him, but he swore he could see Keith’s wings. They were translucent and didn’t look as bright red as the last time he had seen them. Lance sighed and rested his forehead on Keith’s shoulder. He felt so safe, warm, and protected in his arms. He wanted this feeling to last forever… But the best way to do that would be to get rid of the pillar that opened the gate in the first place. He didn’t know if he could do this.

He held on a little tighter to his lover. “Keith… I love you so much… Please don’t let me go.”

“I never will.” Reassured Keith as he tightened his own grip on Lance. “I’ll never let you go. I’ll never leave you.”

With those words, Lance held Keith tightly and the ground split under them. The pillar shattered into thousands of pieces. But Keith held him close and kept him safe so they could walk away injury free from the fall.

***

Lance smiled at the memory as he pulled up to his house. He had an hour and a half before he needed to get going. He didn’t want to be late for his very important appointment. Though he did have just enough time to speak to Iverson. The man was waiting outside his home with James Griffin. The angel had survived Keith bashing his face in. Apparently Angels were harder to kill than roaches. Though he was wearing a face mask and looked pissed. He probably hadn’t healed completely.

Iverson nodded when he saw Lance. “McClain.”

“Iverson.” Lance unlocked the front door and without missing a beat the trio had walked into the office. Sitting above the fireplace was the hilt of the god slayer on display in a case. He really liked how it looked. Lance happily sat down on his chair behind his desk. He waved his hand and two chairs moved across the room so they could take a seat, which they did. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“As you know, a large number of Iscariots have died.” Stated Iverson. “We have to wait for them to be reincarnated again… We recently did a spiritual census to see who was still alive and who we were going to see in a few decades. We came up two short.” 

“Oh?” Lance knew very well who they were talking about. Adam and Curtis had both felt strange after the battle and had done their own ritual thing. The two of them had discovered that they had lost their connection to the Iscariots and therefore they could no longer reincarnate like the others. They quickly confessed that Marcello brought them both back to life on the battlefield just for fun. 

“Yes, Adam and Curtis.” Said Iverson. “But I bet you already know that.”

“I do.” Lance leaned forward on his desk. “Look, I’m not going to bullshit you guys. Marcello is a dick. He found a loophole in your covenant. You guys will die and get reincarnated to continue your work. Marcello brought Adam and Curtis back to life moments after they died. The covenant is null and void when they came back to life in their previously dead bodies. You might want to close that loophole.”

Iverson didn’t look very impressed, but he reluctantly agreed. “It’s always that damn warlock’s fault… Fine. We’re going to have to close that loophole so that doesn’t happen again…”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Said Lance. He looked between the two of them and smiled. “So, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Curtis still has some weapons that belong to the Iscariots.” Said Iverson. “I have a feeling that you know exactly where he is.”

“Of course.” Said Lance. “I’ll talk to Curtis and you should have your tools dropped off by the end of the weekend. Do you have any particular building you want it dropped off at?”

“Curtis will know.”

“Alright. Simple enough.”

It was around this time when James spoke up. “Where’s your pet demon?”

“Keith is indisposed at the moment.” Said Lance calmly. “And he isn’t my pet. He’s my lover.” Hearing that made both the Iscariots uncomfortable. Lance didn’t mind. He felt confident enough to actually say it now in front of them. Lance loved Keith and Keith had made it very clear that he loved him. “If you have something to say about our relationship then either say it or get out.”

Iverson sighed and shook his head. “It wouldn’t matter what we would say anyway. You’re going to do whatever you want. Warlocks always do that kind of stuff anyway.”

“Precisely.”

“You’ve started to settle into this role pretty well haven’t you?”

Lance shrugged. “Well, everything has gone a lot better for me ever since I broke the lock. I guess having the stress of living on top of a gate to hell was really taking a toll on me. But since I broke the lock everything has gone a lot more smoothly for me.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but he didn’t have to tell them everything.

Iverson nodded and stood up. “Alright… Well, I guess that is all for now. Until next time?”

“Until next time.” He gestured to the door and the two men saw themselves out.

When they were gone, Lance happily headed up to his room to have a quick shower. He still had plenty of time before he needed to make it to his appointment. As he did so, he thought about Adam and Curtis. The two of them seemed so lost after figuring out they were both free. Adam still had Shiro to fall back on, but Curtis literally had nothing.

It was a sad few days for the both of them and Curtis felt bad about not having a place in the world anymore. Thankfully Kolivan had dropped by a day or two after the apocalypse incident to see how everyone was dealing with it. He was surprised to find that Adam and Curtis were no longer attached to the Iscariots. He had actually offered both of them work helping the Mamora coven. Since they both were very skilled when it came to hunting demons their skills were invaluable.

Curtis quickly agreed while Adam was still thinking about it. Since he wouldn’t get attacked by the Iscariots for abandoning them anymore, he was considering going back to teaching. He did enjoy the work and he had very, very good standing with the administration when he left. That also made Lance consider going back to school himself. He still wanted to be a teacher.

He was pretty sure he would be a good teacher. He really wanted to be a kindergarten teacher too. Maybe he would start thinking about getting back into it next year? That sounded like a good idea.

An alarm went off on his phone, letting him know he needed to get moving. Lance quickly got out of the shower, dried off and dressed in semi-formal clothes. He kind of liked wearing clothes that made him look a little nicer. Keith certainly seemed to like it too, even if he did say it was because of how his pants hugged his butt.

Lance looked himself over in the mirror and grinned. “Yeah, I’m sexy as hell.” He had been a lot more confident these days. With a grin, Lance happily headed out the door. He got back into his car and drove out to make his appointment. 

The world still sucked, but that was life. Things sucked, but everyone had the power to try and make things better. After trying to end it all, Lance was going to do what he could to save it. He was nowhere near as powerful as a god anymore, but his magic was still very emotion based. He had a surprisingly good grip on his magic now. Lance was happy with that.

Lance drove into the city and happily parked in a spot close to the Mamora Lawfirm. He walked in and smiled at the woman behind the front desk. “Hi there.” Said Lance in a cheerful tone. “I have an appointment with Kolivan. Lance McClain.”

The woman nodded and quickly checked her computer. “Let’s see… Ah yes. 1:45, Lance McClain?”

“That would be the one.”

She gestured to the elevator that led to the Mamora’s hidden HQ. “Please go right ahead.”

He grinned and happily headed over to the elevator. “Thanks.” He wasn’t sure if the woman was part of the coven or just one of the normal humans that they hired. Either way, he was glad she was nice and not rude.

He got into the elevator and happily hit the button. He wondered if witches would have been able to escape the apocalypse if they hid within these pocket dimensions away from it all? Maybe. He wasn’t sure.

When he got off the elevator he was immediately greeted by Pidge and Hunk. They two of them had been shocked when they found out that Lance almost started the apocalypse. Pidge almost strangled him for doing it while Hunk hugged him tightly because he didn’t do it. It was a strange experience to say the least.

“Glad you finally showed up.” Said Pidge. “This pocket dimension thing is weird.”

“You ready for this?” Asked Hunk.

Lance chuckled and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be. You guys all ready to go to dinner after this?”

Pidge nodded. “We booked a table at the stake house so Shiro and Keith can eat some actual cooked meat for once.”

“Some of the people I go to school with work there.” Said Hunk. “They are really, really good.”

“Nice.” Said Lance. “... If we slip them like, an extra fifty do you think they will cook a blue stake for those two?”

“I don’t think they can…” Said Hunk. “Like, it’s a health thing… I know those two won’t get salmonella, they eat raw chicken like it’s nothing, but you know…”

“Yeah, fair enough.” He walked with the two of them into the main sitting room where most of the coven was relaxing. Even Shiro was there just lounging around by the fire with Adam resting against his side. Curtis was sitting on a stool by them and showing them some kind of harness. Lance quickly went over to see what was going on. 

“-so what do you think?” Asked Curtis.

“What is that?” Asked Lance.

Curtis looked up at him. “Oh, hey Lance. I was showing Shiro this harness. The Iscariots have something similar to help us fly for certain missions. I’ve been trying to make something similar for Shiro. I thought it would be easier than trying to grow him some new wings. I just don’t know how many elemental air stones I need to lift him…”

“We can figure it out.” Said Shiro. He seemed excited to be able to fly again.

Lance was glad that Curtis was able to possibly find a solution. “Awesome. Glad you guys are working things out. You guys know where Keith is?”

Adam shrugged. “Probably still setting things up. This thing is very important to him too. Don’t know why you two are making such a big deal out of this.”

Shiro rolled his eyes and lightly nudged Adam’s shoulder. “Don’t be like that. It is important.” he gestured to a hall. “He’s down there with Kolivan and Krolia. They’ll get you when they are ready.”

“Okay… I’ll just see if they need me yet.” He said goodbye to the trio and headed down the hallway. A warm feeling in his chest started to slowly bloom and Lance knew he was getting closer to Keith. The connection that they shared as the summoner and the summoned was much stronger after the almost end of the world. It made the both of them so incredibly happy that it was almost nauseating for everyone else in the house.

He felt Keith’s presence strongest behind a large, ornate door. He was about to knock on it when Krolia opened it and looked out at him. “We’re not ready yet.”

“I know, but it’ll be soon, right?”

“Yes.” She stepped outside and carefully closed the door behind them. “You two have been through a lot… Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Weren't you guys talking to us about doing this ages ago?” Asked Lance.

“I know. I just think one should ask again anyway.” She said calmly. “Keith is extremely confident about this and wishes to get this done as soon as possible.”

Lance smiled. “Same.”

Krolia smiled at him and patted his shoulder. “I’m glad you made this choice. You two deserve each other.” There was a loud bang behind the doors. “... I would say that everything is done now.”

She opened the door and let Lance in. The room was made completely of stone with some red tapestries hanging from the walls. Dozens of white and red candles covered the floors and walls. They must have been there for a long time considering how much wax had pooled around them. In the middle of the room was an interesting sigil scrawled across the floor in white paint.

Keith, in his demon form, was standing in front of Kolivan while the older man was painting something on his chest. “Are you sure it’s done right?” He asked the witch.

“Yes it is.”

“But are you-”

“Ask me again and you’re getting knocked out for this. Being conscious is not a requirement for this.”

Lance chuckled and walked over to them. “Hey.”

Keith quickly looked over at Lance and grinned. “Hey there yourself. You look good.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You two can flirt later.” Said Kolivan calmly. He took Lance’s hand and started to paint a sigil on his hand. Lance noticed that it was the same as the one on the floor and on Keith’s chest. “Alright, here is how this works, since you don’t know the spell I will just say it. Lance, just keep your hand on Keith’s chest. The hand with the sigil on it. Okay?”

Lance nodded. “Yep. I got it.”

“Good. Stand in the middle of the sigil already and we’ll get started.”

Keith took Lance’s hand and walked into the middle of the sigil with him. “You do want this, right?” He quickly asked.

Lance nodded as he put his hand on Keith’s chest. “Of course it is. You want it too, right?”

“More than anything.”

Kolivan crouched down by the sigil and started to chant something in a strange language that Lance didn’t recognise. Suddenly all the sigils started glowing a golden colour and Lance felt a comforting warmth crawl up his arm. He was sure that Keith felt that warmth too judging from the smile on his face. After a few seconds the golden light started to fade away, but the warmth stayed just as intense inside Lance.

Kolivan groaned a little as he stood up. He muttered a few things about getting old and his joints. “Okay, the ritual is over. Keith is now your familiar. You two are bonded to each other for life. Lance, you will never be able to banish Keith back to hell and Keith, you will never be able to willingly kill Lance.”

Lance grinned and happily hugged Keith tightly. “We did it! You’re my familiar! We’re like, practically married!”

Keith rolled his eyes and hugged back. “We’re not married, you dumbass.”

“Close enough.” He kissed Keith and the demon couldn’t help but kiss back and purr happily.

***

Keith had always been kind of on the fence about wanting to be Lance’s familiar. It always seemed like such a huge step, but after what almost happened Keith couldn’t see himself going on without Lance in his life. Sure they had to deal with a few things in the coming days after everything that happened; the Adam/Curtis thing, dealing with Lotor, and trying to clean up all the dead things around the now broken lock, but being with Lance was something Keith felt was more important.

He was happy to be Lance’s familiar. That warm feeling swirling in his chest must have been the feelings Lance felt for him. It made him smile so much. He kissed Lance’s cheek and neck, which made him giggle.

“Can you please not do that here?” Asked Kolivan.

“Fine.” Muttered Keith.

“Sorry Kolivan.” Said Lance. “We’ll get going… Once Keith puts some pants back on.”

Keith rolled his eyes and walked over to where he had put his human clothes while he changed back to his human form. “Pants are still stupid. I hate them. They are fucking dumb.”

“Just put them on.”

Keith rolled his eyes so hard he felt like they were going to roll out of his head. Pants were still stupid. Plus they were in the Mamora’s stronghold. They should be fine with Keith walking around without pants. Shiro was technically walking around without pants. Just because he was a manticore and technically couldn’t wear pants… It was speciest or something like that.

Once his pants were on he and Lance walked out to where everyone else was waiting. When they saw them there were lots of cheers and congratulations for the two of them. Keith was very happy with how things went.

“Congrats guys.” Said Hunk. “I’m proud of you guys.”

“Good job doing your strange magic demon thing.” Said Pidge.

“Awwww, thanks guys.” Said Lance as he happily hugged the two of them. He then looked over at Keith and smiled. “Ready to get going?”

“Yeah.” He looked over at Adam and Shiro. “You two coming?”

Adam sighed and got up, lightly tugging on Shiro’s arm as he did so. “Come on. Move it.”

“But it’s warm here.” Whined Shiro in a playful manner.

Adam rolled his eyes. “We’ll meet you guys outside.”

The group of four got into the elevator and the humans started to talk about the place they were going to have dinner at. Keith didn’t really pay much attention to it as he thought about the meeting they were going to have with Lotor the next day. He knew that Krolia had dealt with him and his little coven by cracking a book of demons over Lotor’s head and telling him to choose one, but he was pretty sure that Lotor was going to be a little difficult to deal with.

However that didn’t matter. Things were looking up. Keith and Lance. Lance had Keith. Everything was right in the world and their future together looked brighter than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I'm pretty sure I tied up all the loose ends. If there is a major plot hole that I missed just let me know! Thank you all for giving this a go and or leaving comments. I really enjoyed all of it and I am glad you all stuck around. Maybe check out some of my other stuff? If you're not interested, that's cool. Still glad you were interested in this one enough to stick with it. See you guys in the next one XOXOXOXO


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